BX 5183 .S7 1917
Sockman, Ralph Washington,
1889-
The revival of the
conventual life in the
/J
Digitized by
the Internet Archive
in 2015
https://archive.org/details/revivalofconventOOsock_0
The Revival of the Conventual Life
in the Church of England in
the Nineteenth Century
/by
RALPH W. SOCKMAN, M.A.
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR
OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
New York City.
1917.
PRINTED BY
Gray, 227 W. 17th Street
New York City
1917
Copyright, 1917
BY
RALPH W. SOCKMAN
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface 5
CHAPTER I
Seventeenth Century Antecedents of the Monastic Revival
I. The Attitude of the Antiquaries II
II. The Clerical Writers and the Monastic Interest 13
III. Attempts to Revive the Conventual Life 18
CHAPTER II
French Pioneers on English Soil 25
CHAPTER III
The Preparation of English Society for Monastic Institutions
I 800- I 832
I. A Period of Academic Discussion. 1800-1815 38
II. Social Conditions Foster Monastic Ideas. 1816-1832 ... 43
III. , Church Conditions Turn Attention to Monastic Orders . . 47
IV. The Influence of Continental Travel on Monastic Ideas . . 50
V. The Romantic Writers and Monastic Ideas S3
VI. Evidences of Interest in a Monastic Revival 55
CHAPTER IV
The Development of the Distinctively Monastic Elements
I. The Growth of Interest in Celibacy 60
II. The Effect of the Oxford Movement on the Monastic Interest 73
III. The Development of Monastic Ideals from 1839 to 1845 . . 83
IV. The General Interest in the Monastic Revival 93
V. Definite Plans for Revival 99
3
CONTENTS
CHAPTER V
The Beginning of Sisterhoods
PAGE
I. The First Steps 104
II. The Sisterhood at Park Village 113
III. Society of the Holy Trinity of Devonport 121
IV. Society of St. John the Baptist 133
V. St. Margaret's Sisterhood. East Grinstead 144
VI. A View of the General Sisterhood Movement 152
CHAPTER VI
Communities of Men
I. Newman's Retreat at Littlemore 157
II. The Revived Agitation for Brotherhoods 161
III. Father Ignatius and the Order of St. Benedict 164
IV. The Benedictines of Caldey Island 172
V. Society of St. John the Evangelist 182
VI. The Community of the Resurrection 188
VII. Society of the Sacred Mission 192
VIII. Society of the Divine Compassion 195
Conclusion 198
Bibliography 209
PREFACE
The field of monastic study has been furrowed so often
by research that it would appear to have lost its productiv-
ity. While this may be true within the confines of the
Roman Catholic Church, the flood of religious enthusiasm
in the last century has left a rich deposit of conventual life
in the Church of England. The fertility of this new soil is
indicated in a statement of which the present Archbishop
of Canterbury is one of the authors : "When the time here-
after comes for estimating and comparing the various church
movements of this century in England, it is probable that
the first place as regards utility and strength will be as-
signed to the revival of Sisterhood life as an active constit-
uent in the church's work." ^ Since that estimate was
made, several monastic communities of men are now estab-
lished.
It might seem that the story of this revival should be
written by an Anglican, perhaps by a member of a monastic
community. Although the need of such a history has often
been recognized by them, yet it has not been undertaken in
any serious or comprehensive way. The present writer has
the disadvantage, but also the advantage of distance. While
he is deprived of some details that make the account inti-
mate and interesting, he is enabled to study the movement
with a perspective that should furnish true proportions.
Nearly all the source material to which any reference could
be found has been available in the various libraries of New
York. Moreover, the main part of this story is devoted, not
to the immediate communities now in existence, but to the
preparation of England for their rise, a subject which appar-
1 Davidson and Benham, Life of Archibald Campbell Tail, 2
vols. (London, 1891), i, 449.
5
6
PREFACE
ently antedates the treatment or the concern of the present
monastics.
The attempt to trace this growing interest begins with
the suppression of the monasteries under Henry VIII; and
if it seems to lead too far afield in the opening chapters, the
arguments and citations of the actual promoters of the con-
ventual communities in the nineteenth century will show
their connection with, and dependence on, the movements of
the earlier periods.
In the preparation of this study, the author has been par-
ticularly indebted to Professor William Walker Rockwell
of Union Theological Seminary for his suggestion of the
theme, for his patient, encouraging counsel, and for his keen,
kindly criticism throughout. Words are but weak messen-
gers to express the writer's gratitude to the following, also :
To Professor James T. Shotwell of Columbia University
for his guidance and inspiration during the years of histor-
ical study and for his advice in this specific undertaking; to
Professor F. J. Foakes Jackson for the intimate glimpses
which he has given into the inner circles of the movements
discussed and for the great amount of time he has so gener-
ously spent in reading the manuscript ; to the Order of the
Holy Cross, West Park, New York, for its kindness in ad-
mitting the writer to its institution and library; to the
librarians of the General Theological Seminary, Columbia
University, Union Theological Seminary, and the New York
Public Library for their courteous consideration; to Miss
Cornelia T. Hudson and Miss Laura S. Turnbull of the
Union Theological Seminary staf¥ of librarians for their
voluntary assistance, far exceeding the requirements of
official courtesy; and finally to Mrs. Ralph W. Sockman,
whose encouragement in the preparation of this work and
her untiring labor in reading the proof have made the task
more pleasant and the story more readable.
CHAPTER I
Seventeenth Century Antecedents of the
Monastic Revival
Novelty has little charm for a Churchman. He de-
mands that projected reforms bear the stamp of authority
imprinted by the past. Hence the nineteenth century ad-
vocates of monasticism in the Church of England knew
that they must invoke the sanction of that authority. The
church of the first centuries was studied to prove the har-
mony of the conventual Hfe with Catholic Christianity;
but the practical Englishman had also to be shown that
these institutions were feasible in his own land, even since
the days of Henry VHI. Could this be shown?
The very Act which suppressed the lesser monasteries
paid tribute to the greater. In its preamble it directed
that the members of the smaller institutions be distributed
among the "great and honorable monasteries of the realm,
where, thanks be to God, religion is right well kept and
preserved." ^ These words must not be taken too seri-
ously, but they do have a significance. Granted that they
were intended to cajole Henry's future victims, they in-
dicate also a popular sentiment in many quarters against
the total abolition of the monasteries. Even Latimer de-
sired to retain some of their practical features. "He en-
treated that two or three in every shire should be con-
tinued, not in monkery, but as establishments for learned
1 27 Henry VIII, c. 28, Statutes of the Realm, iii, 575.
7
8 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
men and such as would go about preaching and giving
religious instruction to the people, and for the sake of
hospitality." ^ In the cases of some of the greater mon-
asteries, the neighborhoods petitioned that they might be
spared, and the Visitors themselves represented them as
beneficial.^ The Pilgrimage of Grace incorporated among
other grievances a plea for a restoration of the monas-
teries.^
How effective the partition of the property of the abbeys
proved in silencing the demand for the restoration of the
religious houses is shown in the reaction under Mary.
When this queen desired to restore the papal supremacy.
Parliament made the confirmation of the titles of the oc-
cupants of monastic estates part of the Act.* Mary, how-
ever, succeeded in restoring a number of convents and
monastic orders.^
At first Elizabeth did not molest these monastic estab-
lishments, even summoning Prior Tresham and Abbot
Feckenham to take their seats in her first parliament. "But
they had hardly sat down on their seats before they were
raised up and dissolved, with all the rest of the late-restored
Orders." " The thoroughness with which Elizabeth sup-
1 Southey, Book of the Church, 2nd ed. (London, 1825), ii, 68. Cf.
Twysden, Monastic Life (1645), p. 31, quoted in British Critic, Oct.,
1842, p. 364.
^Ibid., p. 68; cf. a letter of George Gifford, an investigator, quoted
in Gentleman's Magazine, Ixv, 770.
3 Patterson, A History of the Church of England (London, 1909),
p. 232.
* Ibid., p. 270; cf. Fuller, The Church History of Britain from the
Birth of Christ until the Year 1648 (1837 ed.), ii, 279. For Act i and
2, Phil, and Mary, c. 8, vide appendix i.
5 For locations vide Fuller, op. cit., pp. 278-9.
^ Ibid., p. 281; cf. Fosbrooke, British Monachism, or Manners and
Customs of the Monks and Nuns of England (London, 1802), 2nd ed.
(1817), p. 398.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
pressed monasticism is shown by the condition of the Eng-
lish Benedictines. After Feckenham's death only one monk
of this Order was left in England.^
Little noticeable defence of the conventual institutions
was made during Elizabeth's reign. No doubt the reve-
nues they received from the monastic lands continued to
silence a great number of the landed classes. But a late
friend of monasteries explains the silence of the sixteenth
century as due to a most naturally one-sided reaction from
the practical corruptions of the Roman Church.^ The
hostility was due to political and practical conditions and
not to any fundamental disagreement with the principles
of the institutions^ The silence of English divines dur-
ing Elizabeth's reign does not necessarily mean that there
was no sentiment favorable to monasteries. Usually it is
the higher clergy that have their opinions printed ; and they
are often among the last to speak, especially when moneyed
interests are threatened. Historians, however, usually
speak with greater freedom. The words of one throw a
little light on a cross-section of English monastic opinion.
William Camden, in the preface to his Britannia, says :
"There are some, I hear, who take it ill that I have men-
tioned monasteries and their founders. . . . Perhaps they
would have it forgotten that our ancestors were, and we
are. Christians, since there were never more certain in-
dications and glorious monuments of Christian piety and
devotion to God than these." * A similar attitude was
taken by William Lambarde, another antiquary, writing
1 Reynerius, Apostolatus Benedictinorum in Anglia (Duaci, 1626),
p. 242.
-British Critic, Oct., 1842, pp. 310-21 1.
^ Ibid., p. 312.
* Camden, Britannia (1856). Quoted in Anglo-Catholicus, The Mo-
nastic and Manufacturing Systems (London, 1843), P- I5-
lO THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
in 1576/ and by Sampson Erdeswicke in 1593.^ Other
writers might probably be cited, but they would prove lit-
tle. There was no propaganda to restore monastic insti-
tutions in the reign of Elizabeth. Antiquaries might praise
them in safety of the past, but it was left to the seventeenth
century to attempt their revival in the Anglican Church.
The court atmosphere in the early part of the century
was not hostile to institutions because they bore the marks
of Roman Catholicism. In fact just the opposite was
true. James I was suspected of Romanist tendencies. It
was known that his wife was secretly a Roman Catholic.^
Charles I, also, with his High Church Archbishop Laud
and his Roman Catholic queen, was friendly to the mo-
nastic idea. Fosbrooke says that a convent of Capuchins
was set up at Somerset House according to the marriage
articles of Queen Henrietta Maria in 1625.* In such an
environment the idea of monastic institutions in the An-
glican Church could easily grow. Its advocates in the nine-
teenth century very appropriately, therefore, bestow their
praise upon these two monarchs.
Throughout the seventeenth century this sentiment in
favor of monasticism found expression in the writings of
antiquaries and church leaders. Moreover, actual attempts
to revive the conventual life were made. To dissect all
the causes of this interest is impossible in a brief intro-
ductory chapter, and, furthermore, the important considera-
tion in this thesis is not the cause, but the existence, of
1 Lambarde (1536-1601). Perambulation of Kent; containing the
Description, Hystorie and Customs of that Shire (London, 1576), cited
in Spelman, History and Fate of Sacrilege, 4th ed. (1895), Introd., p.
xii.
2 Erdeswicke (d. 1603), Survey of Staffordshire (1593-1603), ed.
Hardwood (1844), cited in Spelman, op. cit.
s Patterson, op. cit., p. 316.
^ Fosbrooke, op. cit., p. 398.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
such a sentiment. To record a few instances, therefore, is
sufficient.
I. THE ATTITUDE OF THE ANTIQUARIES
Chronologically the antiquaries must be mentioned first.
In 1 613 Sir Henry Spelman wrote his book, De non
temerandis Ecclesiis, in which he denounced the spoliation
of the monasteries. Spelman was himself an owner of
abbey lands. The purchase of these lands occasioned a
long court action in which he was a loser.^ Perhaps this
may have colored his view. At any rate his interest is
practical and social. He praises the hospitality, charity
and learning of the monks, and places in dark contrast
the conditions under the new Poor Law. The popularity
of this book is shown by its having reached its sixth edi-
tion in 1704.^
Sir Roger Twysden, antiquary and historian, was a
Cavalier, standing close to the King. His opinion, there-
fore, has an added significance.
Some there are either so averse from the calling or so in love
with the possessions religious people were endowed with, as
they held an opinion that there should have been no reforma-
tion, but an absolute extirpation of them. In which yet Lat-
imer, a glorious martyr, did not concur, who would have had
two or three saved in every shire. ... To speak seriously and
without passion, what can the ill be [without other conse-
quences] to have places set apart, whither men, either by na-
ture, time or otherwise unfit for the world, may retire them-
selves in religious company, may think on heaven and good
learning?" ^
^Dictionary of National Biography.
2 Similar view was expressed by him in The History and Fate of
Sacrilege, written I632 (London, Holborn, 1698), 4th cd., 1895. Its
popularity is well known.
Twysden, Monastic Life (c. 1645), quoted in British Critic, Oct.,
1842, p. 364.
12
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Thus the historical tone of Twysden the antiquary is
tinged with the hortatory zeal of Twysden the man of
af¥airs. Moreover, the religious interest plainly joins it-
self to the social in his expression.
Similar in social position and in monastic ideas was Sir
William Dugdale, a follower of Charles I in the Civil
War. He was the chief author of that monumental work
Monasticon Anglicanum} The list of other seventeenth
century historians and antiquaries who voiced opin-
ions favorable to monasticism is a long one, and in-
cludes :
(1) William Somner (1598- 1609), a friend of Charles
I, Laud, Dugdale, Fuller, et. al. He contributed to Dug-
dale and Dodsworth's Monasticon Anglicanum materials in
regard to Canterbury and the religious houses of Kent.
He also wrote The Antiquaries of Canterbury (1640).
(2) Robert Plot (1640- 1696), author of ^ Natural
History of Oxfordshire (1677), and A Natural History of
Staffordshire (1688). Plot was a Royalist.
(3) John Prince (1643- 1723), author of Worthies of
Devon (1701).
(4) Sir Robert Atkyns ( 1647-171 1 ) , Ancient and Pres-
ent State of Gloucestershire (1712).
(5) Sir Simon Degge (1612-1704), Observations upon
the Possessors of Monastery Lands in Staff ordshire ; ■■^vh-
lished with Erdeswicke, Survey of Staffordshire ( 1717 ed.).
(6) Browne WilHs (1682-1760), History of the Mitred
Parliamentary Abbeys and Conventual Cathedral Churches,
2 vols. (1718-1719).
(7) John Stevens (d. 1726), who published a con-
tinuation of the Monasticon Anglicanum in 2 vols, entitled
1 Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum (1655) ; new ed., 6 vols. (London,
1817-1830).
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
The History of Ancient Abbeys, Monasteries, Hospitals,
Cathedrals, etc. (1722).*
The significance of these historical writings must not be
overestimated. They are entered here merely to show that
many men of letters recognized the value of institutions
now ruined. How widespread this feeling was cannot be
definitely stated. The very focussing of the attention on
this subject and the popularity of some of these books are
an indication of the general interest. There are, too, some
reflections of the social interests of their own times, as in
Spelman. Furthermore the nineteenth century advocates
of monasteries regarded these writers as factors in the
three hundred year revival, as is evident from their fre-
quent citation.^ The writings of a few historians, how-
ever, do not in themselves prove the seventeenth century
ready to revive monastic institutions, for the pride of the
historian is that he stands aloof from the popular opin-
ions of his own time.
II. THE CLERICAL WRITERS AND THE MONASTIC INTEREST
The clergy, however, are less independent of their en-
vironment than are the historians. When the clergy at-
tempted to write of the convents they may not have given
so exact an account of the sixteenth century conditions
as did the antiquaries, but they do give a better glimpse
of the popular opinion of their own times. In an account
of the monastic revival the clerical writers are, therefore,
more interesting and more important.
John Bramhall, Archbishop of Armagh, essayed to give
1 For antiquaries of 17th century, cf. The Cambridge History of Eng-
lish Literature, ix, ch. xiii.
^History and Fate of Sacrilege, 1846 ed., reproduced in 4th ed. 1895;
cf. Anglo-Catholicus, Monastic and Manufacturing Systems (London,
1843), passim.
14
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
what he "conceived to be the judgment of moderate Eng-
lish Protestants concerning the suppression of monas-
teries." ^ It was, first, that "covetousness had a great oar
in the boat" ; second, that "foundations, which were good
in their original institutions, ought not to be destroyed for
accessory abuses" ; third, that it is lawful to restrain and
to prune, but "to pluck up good institutions root and
branch, is not reformation which we profess, but destruc-
tion." ^ Being an active ecclesiastical statesman, he goes
on to give his opinion in regard to their revival. If mon-
asteries were moderated in their number and revenues,
if they were made more practical and less contemplative,
if the vow of perpetual celibacy were reduced to the tem-
porary form of the English universities or the Beguines
across the sea, if the blind obedience demanded of monks
were somewhat enlightened, if their "mock poverty" were
changed to a competent maintenance, he did "not see why
monasteries might not agree well enough with reformed
devotion." *
Herbert Thorndike, sometime Prebendary of the Col-
legiate Church of St. Peter, Westminster, was a theologian
frequently quoted by later High Churchmen. He declared
very distinctly that monasticism, while not "essential to
the constitution of the Church of England," was never-
theless "advantageous for the maintenance of that retire-
ment from the world in the reasons of our actions, wherein
our common Christianity consisteth." * No member of the
Church of England "need disown the whole Church in
maintaining monastical life as agreeable with Christianity
1 Bramhall, A Just Vindication of the Church of England (c. 1653) in
Works of Archbishop Bramhall (1674). i. Pt- i, P- 118 (Oxford, 1842).
^Ibid., pp. 118-119.
^Ibid., pp. 1 19-120.
* Thorndike, Theological Works (London, 1659), iv, pt. ii, bk. iii, p.
815, in Anglo-Catholic Library of Theology (Oxford, 1853).
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
and expedient to the intent of it." ^ While Thorndike rec-
ognized the practical corruptions of the monks, he felt
that the monastic orders gave opportunity for a higher
life than the secular state. ^
About this time Thomas Fuller in his Church History
discourses on the practical value of the monasteries. Their
instruction and their charity especially catch his eye. He
pays a tribute to nunneries and believes their return would
be welcomed ; ^ but Fuller seems to think that by the mid-
dle of the seventeenth century the popular interest in mon-
asteries was waning. In the light of his own views the
touch of sarcasm about the greed of the land-holders is
apparent.*
The pro-monastic sentiment was revived after the Res-
toration. Peter Heylin, the disciple of Laud, paid a trib-
ute to the charity of the monks.^ Archbishop Leighton
of Glasgow thought it was the great and fatal error of
i/fciU, p. 815.
2 Ibid., p. 818.
3 "Nunneries also were good she schools, wherein the girls and maids
of the neighborhood were taught to read and work; and sometimes a
little Latin was taught them therein. Yea, give me leave to say, if
such genuine foundations had still continued, provided no vows were
obtruded upon them (virginity is least kept where it is most restrained),
haply the weaker sex (beside the avoiding modern inconvenience)
might be heightened to a higher perfection than hitherto hath been
attained. I say, if such feminine foundations were extant now of
days, haply some virgins of highest birth would be glad of such
places, and, I am sure, their fathers and elder brothers would not be
sorry for the same." (Fuller, The Church History of Britain, ii, 190.)
*"It is high time for me to put a period to this subject; . . . the
rather because this old and trite subject is now grown out of fashion,
men in our own age having got a new object to fix their eyes thereon —
taking notice how such church lands do thrive, which since hath been
derived into the hands of new possessors." Ibid., bk. vi, p. 297 (1837
ed.).
^ B — , S. H., The Monastic Houses of England; their accusers and
defenders (London, 1869), p. 3.
1 6 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the Reformation that the reHgious houses had not been
reformed rather than destroyed. They were needed as
places of retreat, education and mortification.^
Thomas Tanner, later Bishop of St. Asaph, wrote his
Notitia Monastica in order "to preserve some remem-
brance of these structures, once the glory of our English
nation." ^ He admits that the popular feeling is hostile
to the monasteries. "I am not ignorant that the generality
of people, ever since the dissolution, have, through a mis-
taken zeal and false prejudice, thought that the very mem-
ory of those great men, who erected these places, ought
to be buried in the rubbish of those structures that they
designed." ^ Evidence of some desire for nunneries is
found also in a sermon of Bishop Rainbow of Carlisle in
1676, who himself was opposed to the idea. "I have in-
deed found some men and women eminent in zeal, wholly
devoted to the Church of England, who thought it would
be of great advantage, religious and politic, if some
kind of protestant nunneries were allowed and instituted
among us; for which some have projected models and
rules very considerable, and some have well considered
them." *
What conclusions can be drawn from the above citations?
To some they may seem to admit of no generalisation.
However, if to these were added the favorable opinions
of Laud, Montague, Jeremy Taylor, Andrewes, and others
1 Burnet (1643-1715), History of His Own Time (6 vols.), (Oxford,
1833), i. 39, quoted in Anglo-Catholicus, Monastic and Manufacturing
Systems, p. 18.
2 Tanner, Notitia Monastica; or A Short History of the Religious
Houses in England and Wales (1695) ; preface quoted in Anglo-Cathol-
icus, op. cit., p. 15; cf. B — , S. H., op. cit., p. 3.
3 Ibid., Preface.
* A sermon preached at Appleby, Apr. 14, 1676, by the Rt. Rev. Edw.
Rainbow, Bishop of Carlisle, quoted in the Church of England Maga-
zine, XV, 334 (1843)-
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
on celibacy, and of Montague on monastic poverty,^ it
would seem safe to say that the ecclesiastical hierarchy
of the seventeenth century was permeated with monastic
ideas.
But what connection have the opinions of a few seven-
teenth century divines with a nineteenth century move-
ment? The answer is found in the various pro-monastic
pamphlets and articles of the 1830's and 40's. Again and
again these churchmen are cited along with the antiquaries
mentioned above. In the eyes of the Tractarians, these
were the standard theologians of the Anglican Church.^
In seeking to revive the monastic institutions of the early
church, the Tractarians were wise in citing the seventeenth
century writers. The average Englishman might not be
much attracted by the ideas of the celibates and monks who
lived before the days of the Roman hierarchy, but he could
both understand and admire the things which were felt
to be possible in his own England after she had thrown
off the Roman yoke. If the nineteenth century was the age
of actual monastic revival, the seventeenth was the time of
theoretical preparation.^
1 Cf. British Critic, Oct., 1842.
2 The British Critic, the recognized organ of the Tractarians, Oct.,
1842, p. 301, says that the doctrines of the Oxford divines have been
met with, "Why sound a retreat from the nineteenth to the seventeenth
century?" But that charge is no longer formidable since "the first and
most influential periodical of the day" has pronounced that the theol-
ogy of the seventeenth century divines " 'is the standard theology of the
English Church.'. . . Few will be found, we imagine, so hardy as to
dispute the fact."
3 Note the new editions of the above works in the early nineteenth
century :
Camden, Brittania, 1806;
Lombarde, Perambulation of Kent, 1826 (reprint of 2d ed.) ;
Fosbrooke, British Monachism, 1817 and 1843;
Spelman, De non temerandis, 1841 ;
Prince, Worthies of Devon, 1810;
1 8 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
III. ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE THE CONVENTUAL LIFE
More interesting than theories were the actual attempts
to revive conventual establishments. Space and available
information permit only a brief sketch.
The first and most important attempt was that of Nicho-
las Ferrar at Little Gidding, near Huntingdon. Ferrar
had been a prominent man of business and had become a
member of Parliament in 1624. But a year later he, with
his mother, her children and grandchildren, retired to their
country estate at Little Gidding and set up an establish-
ment which had many conventual elements.^
Their daily routine of hours, services, and work was
similar to that of a monastic house. They observed all the
fasts and festivals of the Church of England. The re-
quired black habit of the women was another mark of
the conventual life.^ The question of celibate vows in
Bramhall, Works, 1842;
Thorndike, Works, 1852;
Heylin, History of the Reformation, 1849;
Leighton, Rules and Instructions for a Holy Life, 1825-31.
1 Macdonough, Brief Memoirs of Nicholas Ferrar, M.A., Founder of
a Protestant Religious Establishment ; chiefly collected from a narrative
by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Turner, formerly Lord Bishop of Ely (London,
1829), 2d ed. 1837, reviewed in British Critic, Oct., 1839, p. 440, et seq.
Other lives of Ferrar consulted were: Peckard, Life of Ferrar;
abridged from the Memoirs (1790) (London, 1852) ;
Ferrar, John, Nicholas Ferrar; Two Lives, by his Brother John,
and by Dr. Jebb. . . . Now first edited by J. E. B. Mayor (Cambridge,
1855) ;
Carter, T. T. (ed.) ; Nicholas Ferrar: His Household and His
Friends (London, 1892) ;
(Ferrar, Nicholas), The Story Books of Little Gidding; being the
religious dialogues recited in the Great Room, 1631-2; from the orig-
inal mss. (New York, 1899) ;
Skipton, H. P. K., Life and Times of Nicholas Ferrar (London,
1907). The dates and authors show Ferrar's connection with the nine-
teenth century revival.
^British Critic, xxvi, 449 (1839).
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
Ferrar's community has often been discussed and is im-
portant in determining the status of the estabHshment.
Ferrar himself had refused the hand of an heiress and had
"declared that he was resolved not to marry at all, if God
gave him the grace to continue as he was." ^ At the age
of thirty-four, when he was ordained deacon, Ferrar de-
clared that he was "resolved to spend the remainder of his
life in mortifications, in devotion and charity." ^ As to
the other members of the institution, Carter thus quotes
from Edward Lenton's Letters : ^
That Mary and Anna Collett considered themselves absolutely
pledged to a single life there can be no doubt. One of their
sisters speaks of the "virgin estate, whereof our chief hath
made profession," and Nicholas Ferrar in 1634 in answer to an
enquiry about the "nuns" of Gidding, replied that "two of his
nieces had lived, one thirty and the other thirty-two years,
virgins; and so resolved to continue as he hoped they would,
the better to give themselves to fasting and prayer, but had
made no vows." *
The author of Carter's work thinks their resolutions
were in actuality tantamount to vows.
At any rate, the establishment had sufficient monastic
flavor to be the object of a tract, called The Arminian Nun-
nery, or a Brief Description and Relation of the late erected
Monasticall Place called the Arminian Nunnery at Little
Gidding in Huntingdonshire, humbly recommended to the
wise consideration of this present Parliament. The Foun-
dation is by a Co. of Ferrars at Gidding. (Printed for
Thos. Underbill, London, 1641).^
^ Mayor, op. cit., p. no.
2 Peckard, op. cit., p. 105; cf. Anon., Life of Ferrar (Phila., 1833),
P- 55-
3 Lenton was a visitor at Ferrar's community.
* Life of N. Ferrar, ed. by T. T. Carter, pp. 143-4.
' Ibid., p. 291.
20
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
The place was attacked and destroyed by the anti-
Royalist soldiers in 1646; but while it existed many church
leaders were loud in its praise. Among Ferrar's friends
and admirers were Charles I, Archbishop Laud, Dr. Lind-
sell, later Bishop of Peterborough, Bishop Williams of
Lincoln, and Cosin, later Bishop of Durham ; while Bishop
Turner of Ely was his Boswellian biographer.^ From a
life of such character and popularity it is not strange that
the Tractarian lovers of monasteries exultingly concluded :
"Thus we have Ferrar's own view pretty clearly marked
as to the celibate, and the accordance of societies of a mo-
nastic character with the genius of our Church." ^
After the Restoration several proposals were made for
female establishments. In 1671 a scheme for a protestant
woman's college under the instruction of a "lady governess
and grave society of widows and virgins, who have re-
solved to lead the rest of their lives in a single, retired,
religious way according to the pattern of some protestant
colleges in Germany." ^ That there were similar schemes
discussed about this time seems apparent from Bishop Rain-
bow's sermon.* However, there seems to be no record of
actual beginnings.
The two chief needs to be met by these schemes were
the education of young ladies and the retirement of older
ones. In 1694 Mary Astell wrote A Serious Proposal to
Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest In-
terest, by a lover of her sex. She proposed a sort of
"Protestant Nunnery," or "lest the word nunnery should
frighten people, a Christian Retirement should be formed
"^British Critic, xxvi, 452 (Oct., 1839).
■'Ibid., p. 451-
^Quarterly Review, xxii, 94-95 (1819). Programme was printed
anonymously in a quarto pamphlet of ten pages by Thomas Newcomb
in the Savoy, 1671.
* Cf. supra, p. 16.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
to which ladies who nauseated the world might retire" to
improve their minds and cukivate their spiritual life.*
This proposal was almost as popular at first as if it had
been made to these same ladies by a man. A prominent
lady, supposed by some to be the Princess of Denmark,
afterwards Queen Anne, and by others to be Lady E.
Hastings, promised to give £10,000. But "because the plan
assimilated conventual institutions. Bishop Burnet and
Swift succeeded in robbing posterity of much probable
benefit." ^
About this same time one Susanna Hopton ^ lost her
husband. She had been converted to Roman Catholicism
but had returned to the Church of England through a read-
ing of Laud, Morton, and Chillingworth especially. After
her husband's death in 1696 she lived a sort of Religious
Life at Kington.* Her example seems to have aroused
little interest.
Lady Masham, daughter of the famous Puritan Ralph
Cudworth, meditated a plan similar to Mary Astell's, with
more emphasis on the purely educational values.^ In 1705
she published Occasional Thoughts in Reference to a Vir-
tuous and Christian Life/' Her social position and her
friendship with the philosopher Locke brought her proposal
into some prominence.
Sir George Wheler, Royalist, traveler, antiquary and
clergyman, was a spirit in sympathy with Nicholas Ferrar.''
1 Overton, Life in the English Church, 1660-1714 (London, 1885), pp.
148-149-
2 Fosbrooke, British Monachism, p. 399.
3 Church Quarterly Review, Jan., 1893, p. 471.
* Dictionary of National Biography.
^ Fosbrooke, op. cit., p. 399.
8 Overton, Life in the English Church, p. 149.
' Pax, June, 1908, p. 523, reviewing Skipton, The Life and Times of
N. Ferrar.
22
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
In 1698 he published The Protestant Monastery; or Chris-
tian Economics, containing Directions for the Religious
Conduct of a Family. (London, 1698.) Edward Ste-
phens printed, about 1696-7, A Letter to a Lady, which
contains with it The More Excellent Way; or a Proposal
of a compleat Work of Charity. The proposal was to
found a religious house for men and another for women.
The Proposal says that "a Religious Society of Single
Women" had begun.^
A semi-monastic establishment with the characteristic
educational and charitable features was set up at King's
Cliffe, 1743-4 by William Law.^ A friend of Law's,
Archibald Hutcheson, M.P., died in 1740. He desired his
widow to live a retired and religious life under Law's
guidance. Mrs. Hutcheson was joined by a Miss Hester
Gibbon (the historian's aunt). They proposed to live out
the precepts of Law's Serious Call. A girl's school, a boy's
school and almshouses gave an outlet for their charitable
work.^ The life was very much like that of the Ferrars
at Little Gidding. "The same ascetic practices, the same
attention to the wants of the poor, the same care for the
education of the young, the same partiality for the mystic
writers, and, we may add, the same naturally domineering
spirit subdued by grace, are conspicuous in both." *
From these scattered attempts Brother Denys, a member
of the recently restored Order of S. Benedict at Caldey
Island, concluded that the mind of the English Church
had been throughout the period "toward the Religious or
1 Ollard, in Dictionary of English Church History, ed. S. L. Ollard,
1912, p. 499.
2 Church Quarterly Review, Jan., 1893, p. 471.
3 Dictionary of National Biography, cf. Overton, William Law, Non-
juror and Mystic (London, 1881), pp. 228-232 for regulations.
* Church Quarterly Review, Jan., 1893, p. 471.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY ANTECEDENTS
Monastic Life." ^ Such a broad generalisation is probably
not justified. The above proposals and attempts were
quite dif¥erent from the monasteries before the Reforma-
tion. In some cases they were hardly more than Re-
treats; and in themselves they are of little social impor-
tance. Nevertheless, they gave the nineteenth century agi-
tators some valuable precedents, for these had been born in
their own England under the sanction of their own An-
glican Church. As such they deserve a place in an ac-
count of the monastic revival of the nineteenth century.
With the exception of William Law's House at King's
Cliffe and the suggestions of a few prominent men,^ the
eighteenth century reveals little interest in a monastic re-
vival. This is not surprising to any student of church
history. "No such attempt was to be expected in the
eighteenth century, for that was a time of great spiritual
Weakness, and even deadness, throughout Western Europe ;
and in England in particular, the Church was systematically
being repressed and weakened by the State." ^ Anything
resembling religious enthusiasm was ridiculed by the church
authorities. There was little sympathy for the Laudian
conception of the historic church. Social and industrial
conditions turned the popular interest from the meditative
1 Brother Denys, Oblate, O. S. B., in Pax, June, 1911, p. 291.
2 In 1737 Sir William Cunninghame of Prestonfield, Edinburgh, ap-
proached Archdeacon Thomas Sharp with a proposal for "a nunnery
of Protestant religious and virtuous persons, well born, of the female
sex, conforming themselves to the Church of England." There were
to be a prioress and sub-prioress, but no vows. The archdeacon op-
posed the plan. Life of Archbishop Sharp, ii, app. iii, 281-302, quoted
by Ollard, in Dictionary of English Church History, p. 500.
Richardson, in Sir Charles Grandison (1753), wishes there could be a
Protestant nunnery in every shire.
John Wesley records (Lt'/e of Fletcher of Madeley, 1786) that when
he was young he was greatly impressed with an account of Nicholas
Ferrar. Ollard, loc. cit.
3 Frere, English Church Ways (Milwaukee, 1914), p. 79.
24
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
past to the active present. For these and other reasons
the monastic idea steadily waned.
A proof of its unpopularity is seen in the Act of 1791 ^
to relieve the papists from certain penalties and disabilities.
No toleration, however, was granted to persons "bound by
monastick or religious vows." ^ The seventeenth century
denounced Roman Catholicism but accepted the monastic
idea; the eighteenth century denounced the monks but be-
came more tolerant of the Romanists.^
Thus, though by 1539 the monasteries were dissolved,
the conventual ideal of life remained.* Dormant during
Elizabeth's reign, it revived during the seventeenth cen-
tury in the writings of antiquaries, the opinions of divines
and the actual attempts of enthusiasts. But in the re-
ligious chill and social activity of the eighteenth century,
even the idea perished. In 1791 the English soil seemed
less favorable to monasteries than at any time since their
destruction.
^ 31 George III, c. 32, Statutes at Large, vol. 37.
2 Par. 17, "Provided also and be it further enacted That nothing in
this Act contained shall make it lawful to found, endow or establish
any religious order or society of persons bound by monastick or re-
ligious vows."
3 The Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking in favor of this bill in the
House of Lords, said "that excepting a few bigots who were chained
by monkish persuasion, the Roman Catholic religion was rising into a
generous freedom of religious ideas that did honor to Christianity"
Cobbett, Parliamentary History of England (London, 1812-20), xxix,
668). No other mention of this clause was recorded in the debates.
No voice was raised to defend the monasteries of the Roman Church;
and no suggestion was made of their possibility in the Anglican Com-
munion.
*Cf. Brother Denys O. S. B., in Pax, June, 1911, p. 291.
CHAPTER II
French Pioneers on English Soil
An institution like that of monasticism is the result of
growth and development. Hence, before showing how the
monastic ideal, which had been practically extinguished in
England by the close of the eighteenth century, revived in
a materialistic age during the Oxford Movement, it is de-
sirable to indicate how the French emigres of the Revolu-
tion familiarised the people with the monastic establish-
ments, which they were allowed to set up in different parts
of the country.
In 1789 and 1790 a considerable number of Roman
Catholics had come to England as voluntary exiles from
France.^ In May, 1791, Edmund Burke, speaking in the
House of Commons on the Quebec Government Bill, ex-
pressed warm sympathy for the persecuted Catholics of
France, especially the Lazarist Nuns.^ This seemed to be
a signal of welcome. By the middle of 1793 there were
about 4000 exiled French ecclesiastics in Great Britain.^
The English government gave them the royal palace at
Winchester, where 300 and eventually 700 priests organ-
ized themselves on the basis of a religious community,
choosing M. Martin as superior.* "Their regularity and
^Ward, Dawn of the Catholic Revival in England, 2 vols. (London,
1909), ii, 2.
2 Annual Register, 1791, xxxiii, p. 133.
3 Lubersac, Journal historique et religicux de I'emigration et deporta-
tion du clerge de France en Angleterre (Londres, 1802), p. 2.
*lbid., p. 3.
25
26 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
good order surprised all who visited them." ^ These exiles
were welcomed and generously supported, not only by the
government, but also by the best classes of England, in-
cluding even the Protestant clergy.^
In spite of the generous financial support, these French
priests did not live in idleness. They offered their services
as private tutors in distinguished families, as French mas-
ters in schools, and as missionary priests in the Roman
Catholic chapels throughout England.^ This widespread
and diversified activity could not fail to attract the atten-
tion and often the admiration of the Enghsh people.* "It
was not, however, their zealous labors in teaching the poor
and visiting the sick, which affected favorably Protestant
opinion in regard to Catholicism. But that which left an
abiding impression in England, and contributed silently and
indirectly to the Catholic revival, was the patience in pov-
erty, dignity in bearing misfortune, exemplary conduct and
holy living displayed by these victims of the French Revo-
lution." ^
Sympathy, admiration and the fear of Jacobinism were
all paving the way for the Catholic priest in England. And
a reception for the French clergy prepared in a general
sense the road for Roman institutions. But the specific
question of monasteries was soon brought to the fore.
The monastics were undoubtedly the least welcome of the
1 Gentleman's Magasine, June, 1803, p. 537.
2 On Sept. 20, 1792, John Wilmot called a meeting to consider the
relief of these emigres. Those present included the Marquis of Buck-
ingham, William Pitt, Edmund Burke, Sir Philip Metcalfe, M.P., Wil-
liam Wilberforce, three other members of Parliament, three Protestant
clergymen, and two Catholic laymen. Ward, op. cit., p. 19.
3 Purcell, Life and Letters of Ambrose Philips de Lisle (London,
1900) i, 167.
* Gentleman's Magazine, June, 1803, p. 537. Cf. Anti-Jacobin Review
(London, 18003, iv, 142.
5 Purcell, op. cit., p. 167.
FRENCH PIONEERS
27
exiles. The Act of 1791 clearly revealed the English
antipathy to them.^ Only a slight objection was raised,
however, when in October, 1792, the first community, one
of Benedictine Nuns, was established in London. In fact
these nuns were merely passing through London on their
way to Brussels and decided to remain only at the invita-
tion of the Prince of Wales, Mrs. Fitzherbert (herself a
Roman Catholic), and others.^ The Mayor of Thetford
objected to their removing to Norfolk, lest the appearance
of the nuns might cause trouble among the people. But
Bishop John Douglass, vicar-apostolic of the London dis-
trict, writes that he easily silenced the opposition. He
adds, "All the families, Protestant as well as Catholic,
around Bodney in Norfolk are remarkably fond of them." ^
There were thirty-six nuns in this community, which never
returned to France. An English lady could now see a con-
vent thriving on English soil at the dawn of the nineteenth
century.
One of the first monastic foundations to be established
formally in England was the Monastery of La Trappe at
Lulworth in Dorsetshire. In 1794 Mr. Thomas Weld fur-
nished the ground and built the house for these Trappists.
At first they did not flaunt their monastic garb before the
public, but outside of the walls they dressed as day laborers
and carters.* This precaution seems not to have been
necessary very long, for in 1800 they were receiving visi-
tors, and through the medium of a loquacious brother
porter were communicating much knowledge of their mode
of life.'' These monks maintained eighty orphan children
1 Cf. supra, p. 24.
2 Ward, op. cit., ii, 32, quoting from Bishop John Douglass's diary.
^Ibid., p. 33.
*Weld, Letter to Bishop Walmesley, Nov. 4, 1794, in Ward, op. cit.,
ii, 35-
= Fosbrooke, British Monachism, p. 404.
28
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
of the murdered French nobility.^ In 1800 there were
eighty-six monks in the institution.^
Other estabHshments of monks and nuns were founded
during the French Revolution.^ Some returned to France
after the Napoleonic Wars, and some still remain. The
question of importance here, however, is not the fact of
their establishment, but the attitude of the English toward
them. Did the coming of the Roman monasteries increase
the prejudice against the monastic idea or lessen it? On
national attitudes it is not safe to generalise. Contem-
porary periodical literature of that day reveals no wide-
spread or intense interest in these reestablished convents.
A few references, however, are rather enlightening and sig-
nificant.
In 1 79 1 the Rev. George Henry Glasse, Rector of
Hanwell, delivered a sermon in which he discussed very
specifically the exiled monks.* He recognizes the prepon-
derating evil of the monastic orders and the popular hos-
tility to them. Nevertheless there are many of exemplary
virtue who add lustre to the contemplative life. He sees
the value of the zeal, the austerity, the studies, the charity
of the monks. They "are accused of no public crime, and
hold no principle dangerous to the state." Hence to drive
them from England would be a "cruelty so refined, in-
justice so complicated, tyranny so execrable, that it is im-
possible to find language in which to proclaim our pity for
the oppressed — our abhorrence and detestation of their op-
pressors." This sermon shows that hatred of the revolu-
^ Ibid., p. 402.
2 Ibid., p. 407. But Petre in Notices of the English Colleges and
Convents (Norwich, 1849), pp. 31-40, says that by 1817 they had grown
from five to fifty-nine. They returned to France in 1817.
3 For the lists vide Petre, op. cit., pp. 31-62, and Fosbrooke, op. cit.,
pp. 410-412.
* Gentleman's Magazine, Aug., 1793, p. 731, vide appendix, ii.
FRENCH PIONEERS
29
tionists of France had overcome his natural antipathy to
Roman institutions, even the monastic orders. This atti-
tude was typical of many clergy/
Once established the monasteries received favorable com-
ment from many sides. Thomas Weld wrote of the Trap-
pists at Lulworth in 1794: "Nobody molests or disturbs
them, everybody is edified by them, even Protestants and
Methodists come under the wall to hear them sing." ^ Some
discount should perhaps be made from this statement of
an enthusiastic fellow Romanist, but it is not inconsistent
with the opinion of Fosbrooke, the sworn enemy of mon-
asteries. "These Lulworth monks," Fosbrooke says,
"though of course mere automata, are humble, inoffensive
and moral. Superstition, compatible with all religion and
even infidel principles, does not necessarily include vice;
and these noble-minded asceticks maintained eighty orphan
children of the murdered French Noblesse, and refused an
asylum from the Emperor of Russia, because they would
not rob a legitimate proprietor of his estate." ^
The nuns probably aroused more sympathy than did the
monks. The Annual Register, telling of the popular in-
terest in the Carmelite Nunnery at Lanherne, near St.
Colurhb, speaks of them as "venerable ladies" who have
been driven out of France by the "philosophical savages"
of the Revolution.* A high tribute to the refugee nuns
was paid by "A Friend of Religious and Civil Liberty"
(who at least calls himself a Protestant), writing in 181 5
^ That this feeling was widespread through the clergy is shown by
the Addresses of the Clergy of the Diocese of Worcester and also of
Llandaff to his Majesty, 1792 {Annual Register, xxxiv, 75). The
Romanists also requested this. Cf. O'Leary, An Address to the Lords
Spiritual and Temporal (London, 1800), pp. 15-16.
- Letter to Bishop Walmesley, Nov. 4, 1794, in Ward, op. cit., ii, 35.
3 Fosbrooke, British Monachism, p. 402.
* Annual Register, xlvii, 394 (1895).
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
when England was contemplating the return of the con-
ventual orders to the Continent. "No," he says, "the Re-
ligious never were a burden to the state which protected
them. . . . The writer of these reflections was an eye wit-
ness of it (their charity). He lived for several years near
the habitation of a community of these exiled nuns. They
were far from being rich as was obvious from the state
of the house which they occupied. Nevertheless, with
their little income and the produce of their garden and
four or five cows, they found the means never to refuse
any of the numberless poor who came to the convent to
beg some assistance. They received them all with un-
wearied patience, heard with sympathy their long tales of
woe, . . . and shared cheerfully with them the homely fare
of the community. . . . Indeed, the charity of these good
nuns had made them so well known, that at several miles
distance every poor family would have instantly directed
you to their house." ^ He goes on to say that their char-
ity was extended to Protestants as well as to Catholics.
Did such individual cases color men's general idea of
monastic orders? It may be unscientific in the historian
to generalise from a few particulars, but it is natural for
the man on the street so to do. And it is the view of the
Englishman on the street at that time which this chapter
is trying to portray. How easily does the writer just
quoted glide from this specific case of charity over into
general conclusions. "This act of humanity," he adds, "re-
minded me of what I had read in the History of the
French Settlements in Canada, and which shows that the
same spirit has always animated religious communities of
women." ^ Quite in the laudatory tone of the seventeenth
A Friend of Religious and Civil Liberty. Some Reflections on
Communities of Women (London, 1815), pp. 29-30.
2 Ibid., p. 30.
FRENCH PIONEERS
31
century, another writer in 1797 says of the old Enghsh
monasteries, "They maintained the indigent and prevented
the necessity of our heavy taxes for the poor. They en-
couraged industry by the persons whom they employed and
the easy rent of their estates. Celibacy there found a harm-
less refuge without endangering the peace of society by
the lawless pursuit of sensual pleasures. Since their aboli-
tion their merit is acknowledged, and their enemies con-
fess that the picture which Infidelity has drawn of them
has been wonderfully overcharged." ^ A similar defence
of monastic institutions was made by William Windham,
speaking in the House of Commons June 23, 1800. That
he was influenced by the French refugees is clear. "Those
who had fled to us were but miserable remains as to their
means and power, though not as to the virtues they had
uniformly displayed." ^ All these citations tend to show
that admiration and sympathy for the exiles were breaking
down the English anti-monastic prejudice. The ideas of
1800 appear so dif¥erent from those of 1791. But after
all a few quotations do not prove any desire for monas-
ticism. Their significance must not be overestimated.
One event, however, cut through English public opinion in
1800 and revealed a cross-section of the monastic feeling.
That event was a bill in Parliament.
In the Commons on May 22, 1800, Sir Henry Mildmay
moved the following resolutions before the Committee of
the whole House: "That it is the opinion of this com-
mittee, that the temporary residence in this Kingdom of
certain monastic societies, should be permitted, subject to
the provisions of an act passed in the thirty-third year of
his present Majesty, intituled 'An Act for establishing
Regulations respecting aliens arriving in this Kingdom, or
^Gentleman's Magazine, Aug., 1797, p. 636.
^Annual Register, xlii, 141 (1800).
32
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
resident therein, in certain cases,' and that the admission
of any new members into such societies should be pro-
hibited, and the names and numbers of the persons belong-
ing thereto should be annually returned to the Court of
quarter-sessions in which they reside." ^ In making this
motion Sir Henry expressed his strong approval of the
hospitality shown by England to the French emigrants and
of their peaceful demeanor and unassuming gratitude. It
was also to England's honor to have allowed the mo-
nastics to discharge those vows which in their mind were
humanly indissoluble; but such indulgence ought to ex-
pire with the life of the present incumbent. He feared
this would not be the case. "It fell within his own obser-
vation to know that in each of the two monastic societies
established at Winchester, several persons had been suffered
actually to take both veils, since their residence there; and
as he was credibly informed a great variety of similar in-
stances might be produced from different parts of the
country." ^ These practices should be checked at once lest
Parliament by voting money for the subsistence of the
monks, should be made a party to "the revival of the most
unnatural part of the Romish faith." ^ In spite of all
their hospitality it could never be the intention of the gov-
ernment to encourage the reestablishment of monastic in-
stitutions in this protestant country. Another danger of
these institutions was the free tuition which their schools
offered to English children. Through their system of edu-
cation a great influence was exerted over the minds of the
pupils.*
This resolution was supported by the speeches of Mr.
^Annual Register, xlii, 139-140 (1800).
''Ibid., p. 139.
3 Ibid., p. 139.
* Mr. Newbolt's Speech, ibid., p. 140.
FRENCH PIONEERS
33
Pitt, Mr. Johnes and Mr. Bragge. The speaker in opposi-
tion was Mr. Hobhouse. On June 23, 1800, the bill em-
bodying the resolution was reported from the Committee.
A long and animated debate followed. Support was given
by Sir H. Mildmay, Mr. T. Jones, Mr. Dudley Ryder,
Mr. Erskine, and Mr. Percival. The argument was much
along the line of Mr. Mildmay's former speech. A few
new points were brought out. For instance, Mr. Ryder's
position was that the bill would protect the monasteries
from suspicion, but he wanted to make sure they would
not proselytise. "The monastic life," he said, "was pretty
generally condemned even in Roman Catholic countries,
and he had by no means expected to hear that defended
in the House of Commons." ^ The opposition was led by
Mr. Windham, Mr. Sheridan and Mr. Hobhouse, on the
ground that England should not mar her record of hos-
pitality, that the exiles were a harmless remnant, and that
when the troubles were over in France these monks would
return, carrying all their customs and sentiments with
them.^ After a few alterations the bill was passed by the
House of Commons, 52 to 24.^
In the House of Lords the bill was supported by the
Bishop of Winchester and in part by Lord Chancellor
Loughborough. It was opposed by Bishop Horsley of
Rochester as being unnecessary because of existing laws,
and as unconstitutional and dangerous because of the li-
censing and dispensing power which it put in the hands of
the Crown. The bishop favored the regulation of the
monastic schools, but desired the same for the schools of
the Protestant dissenters where "the doctrines of Jacobin-
ism, sedition and infidelity were but too frequently incul-
^Ibid., p. 142.
2 Ibid., p. 142.
3 Ibid., pp. 143-144.
34
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
cated to his certain knowledge." ^ The bill was lost in
the House of Lords.
More interesting than the debates and the votes was the
Catholic attitude toward this bill. Their efforts seem to
have turned the tide in the House of Lords.^ In order to
silence the enemies of the monks, Father O'Leary, an Irish
Franciscan, wrote a pamphlet of sixty-five pages on the
subject of this bill.* He attributes Mildmay's measure to
a controversy between Dr. Sturges, Chancellor of Win-
chester, and John Milner, a Roman priest later Bishop
of Castabala. Milner in his history of Winchester
had depicted the "eminent men of religious orders who
had reflected lustre on the church of Winchester, in the
same colours that any impartial Protestant historian would
have done, as several of them have." * Sturges overlooked
the benefits of the orders in his denunciation of their fasts
and celibacy. O'Leary reminded him that in the seven-
teenth century, Bishop Andrewes lived in a state of celibacy
and Bishop Morley was noted for his ascetic living, both
being revered prelates of the English church.^
O'Leary apologizes for the nuns on the ground of their
harmlessness. They are of great service to the Catholic
nobility in educating their daughters, but they do not
proselyte Protestant children, as charged. The Church of
England need not be alarmed at the conversions made by
these nuns or missionaries, for "Tom Paine has made more
pp. 143-144-
2 Bishop Douglass called "on the old friend of the Catholics, Dr.
Horsley, Bishop of Rochester"; the nuns wrote to the Duke of Portland
and Mr. Windham ; Milner also wrote to Lord Granville and the Lord
Chancellor. Ward, Dawn of the Catholic _ Rewval, p. 208. Cf. the
Lord Chancellor's speech — Annual Register, xlii, 144-145.
3 O'Leary, An Address to the Lords Spiritual and Temporal (London,
1800).
*Ibid., p. 45.
5 Ibid., p. 46.
bRENCH PIONEERS
35
converts in the three kingdoms in three years than the
CathoHc clergy will make in twenty thousand." ^ "One
Catholic lady of an edifying life and amiable manners in
the world, would make more converts than ten thousand
cloisters." * Not only are these religious orders declared
to be harmless, but they have no status as monasteries.
"A monastic institution requires a monastery endowed and
the sanction of the laws of the state to render the vows
of the religious irrevocable."^ The Act of 1791 pro-
hibited monasteries proper. Hence what are the few Eng-
lish nuns now in England and the few Irish nuns in Ire-
land? Merely "a. few Catholic females who, from devo-
tion form a resolution to die old maids, and when tired
of celibacy, can marry in spite of Pope or Bishop." Thus
this Catholic leader, observing the temper of the times,
did not try to defend monasticism, but to deny its existence
in England, and to offer an apology for the ascetic life.*
With such arguments as these the monastic stigma was
removed from the French monks and nuns then in Eng-
land. Protestant suspicions seem to have been allayed.
"Nothing more was ever heard of the inspecting of con-
vents, or of reviving the bill in any form." *
As to the general interest in the subject of this bill, there
seem to have been some differences of opinion. A recent
Catholic writer thinks the bill did not receive much atten-
tion and was never near a passage, being especially inop-
portune at a time when the question of union with Ireland
was before Parliament.® This view, however, is somewhat
controverted by O'Leary's statement, "One would imagine
that there was a kind of confederacy among some of the
^ Ibid., pp. 57-58. ^Ibid., p. 51.
2 Ibid., p. 56. * Ibid., p. 53.
5 Ward, Dawn of the Catholic Revival, ii, 209.
^Ibid., p. 204.
36
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
editors of the public papers to ring the alarm." ^ Mr.
Mildmay, with a typical politician's air and consequent un-
reliability, said "that in submitting this subject to the at-
tention of Parliament, he had complied with the general
voice of the public, laity as well as clergy." ^ Mr. New-
bolt's speech voiced the alarm "among the clergy and
others." ^ To Mr. Percival the bill to check the monas-
teries seemed important and worthy of being the last
solemn act of the British Parliament.* The Annual Regis-
ter mentions the interest on both sides.^ Hence this meas-
ure seems to have aroused quite general consideration and
its discussion reveals a pretty fair cross-section of Eng-
lish opinion on the subject of monasteries. It shows the
English still unreconciled to the monastic idea, but their
hostility overcome by their hospitality and their belief in
its harmlessness. Having triumphed in this public discus-
sion, the monastic communities could live unmolested for
some years at least. Thus the Roman religious orders be-
came once more established in England.
The direct influence of these reestablished monasteries on
the Anglican monastic revival can not of course be definitely
estimated. That they greatly hastened Catholic Emanci-
pation and the coming of Roman institutions is almost un-
questioned.'^ That they paved the way for the Oxford
Tracts and the Puseyite Movement was believed by many
at the time of those movements.^ The Tractarian publi-
1 O'Leary, op. cit., p. 49.
"^Annual Register, xlii, 139 (1800).
3 Ibid., p. 140.
* Ibid., p. 143.
5 Ibid., p. 145.
8 B. R. W. in Pax, Sept., 1912, p. 29 ; cf. English Review, v, 387
(June, 1846).
^ F. W. Grey, in American Catholic Quarterly, xxxiv, 503 (1909);
cf. B. R. W. in Pax, Sept., 1912, p. 29. The English Review, June,
1846, V, 387, reviewed Jules Gondon, Conversion de soixante minstres
FRENCH PIONEERS
37
cations showed admiration for the French refugee clergy.^
The Englishman no longer had to go to the continent
or to an outgrown age to see a convent. The hideous pic-
ture of the Catholic priest handed down by the Elizabethan
tradition did not tally with the spiritual character, the mod-
esty and the gratitude of these French refugee monks.^
A poem of the day tells how "half the people of Lulworth
are already turned, and the parish clerk among them, by
the splendor and parade of the ceremonies, and structure
erected by foreign artists," ^ at the Monastery of La
Trappe. They were shown that convents could live in
England in their own times.* Institutions at home may
lack some of the attraction of those abroad, those of the
present may lose some of the halo of the mediaeval; but
their feasibility is far better known. All this was a step
in the preparation of the English soil for the monastic
plant, even though the cultivation was by the Roman church
and the land was to lie fallow for forty years.
anglicans, etc. (Paris, 1846). Gondon had enumerated the causes of
the "religious regeneration of England, and the conversions which we
witness ; Puseyite Movement, and anarchy of evangelical Protestan-
tism." Among these causes he mentions the hospitable reception which
the French emigrant priests met with in England during the Revolu-
tion ; the consequence of which was, not only that the penal laws against
the Roman Catholics were necessarily relaxed, but that the priests
had opportunities of introducing their principles into English families
in which they were received.
^British Critic, xxxii, p. 261, et seq. (Oct., 1842).
2 Purcell, Life of Cardinal Manning (London, 1895), i, 655.
^Gentleman's Magazine, Ixvi, pt. i, p. 317 (Apr., 1796), reviewing a
poem attributed to Dr. Bernard Hodson, principal of Hertford Col-
lege, on the building of a monastery at Lulworth, Dorsetshire, by the
monks of La Trappe.
* That they observed these examples is shown by Woodhouse, Mo-
nasticism, Ancient and Modern (London, 1896), p. 377. Cf. Wacker-
barth. The Revival of Monastic Institutions; and their bearing upon
society, etc. (Colchester, 1839), p. 27. Cf. Anglo-Catholicus, The Mo-
nastic and Manufacturing Systems (London, 1843).
CHAPTER III
The Preparation of English Society for Monastic
Institutions
SEC. I. A PERIOD of ACADEMIC DISCUSSION. 180O-1815
The first fifteen years of the nineteenth century might
be called the academic period of English monastic history.
The antiquaries and book reviewers found food for thought
in discussions of monasticism, but the people were en-
grossed in the continental war. Two factors kept alive
what interest there was in the subject.
One of these factors was the recently restored monas-
teries. After the discussion of Mildmay's bill had been
silenced, the general public seemed to lose interest. But
historians sometimes attempt to breathe life into seeming
corpses. In 1802 Thomas Dudley Fosbrooke, the distin-
guished antiquary, wrote his British Monachism, or Man-
ners and Customs of the Monks and Nuns of England.
One of the three divisions of his subject was "The modem
introduction of Monasticks, owing to the Political Surgery
of the French Revolutionary charlatans, who amputated
limbs with hatchets and drew teeth with blacksmith's
pincers." ^ The popularity of this book shows that the
subject was not an entirely dead issue.^ The Gentleman's
1 1817 ed., p. 398.
2 In preface to the second edition: "The first edition of this book
having been so honored by the public approbation as to be advertised
in sale-catalogues at twice the original price."
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
Magazine in reviewing this book recognizes the revival of
the monastic spirit and regards the checking of this spirit
as the aim of Fosbrooke's work.^
In 1801 a humorous poem appeared, the title of which
indicates its occasion and theme: The Canonisation of
Thomas , Esq., who has lately erected at East L — H,
Dorset, a monastery and therein established a body of
monks. The Stanzas by Sternhold and Hopkins, Poets
Laureate to the monastery. The Notes by Addison, Arch-
bishop Tillotson, Hume, Dingenon, Rennel, Bishop Newton,
Voltaire, Bishop Sherlock and Judge Blackstone. (London,
Kirby, 1801). 56 pp." ^ The poem tries to point out that
the increase of Roman institutions should cause alarm ; and
the reviewer's comment reveals some general interest in the
theme. He writes : "We know nothing about the monas-
tery to which this pamphlet relates, though we have heard of
many others of the same description." That the question
of monastic institutions was still regarded in 181 2 as of
some importance, is shown by an article in the Quarterly
Review.^ After pointing out how the Romanists are ob-
truding themselves on the public and avowing the wildest
absurdities of the Middle Ages, the Quarterly says a brief
modern refutation is demanded. The reviewer himself un-
dertakes a long dissertation against celibacy. On the
whole, however, contemporary literature reveals no wide-
spread or intense interest aroused by the restored mon-
asteries.
The other factor in arousing interest in conventual in-
stitutions was the Catholic controversial writing. John
Milner's History of Winchester was partly responsible,
as has been seen, for Mildmay's bill of 1800. His second
^ Gentleman's Magasine, Ixii, 137 (Feb., 1802).
2 Reviewed in Anti-Jacobin Magasine, x, 205-206 (1801).
3 vii, 106 (Mar., 1812) ; cf. p. 98.
40
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
edition ^ aroused another storm of attack. His praise of
monasticism in general was denounced as against historical
evidence.^ His apology for vows on the ground that they
were dispensable in emergency was repudiated for the rea-
son that a vow is invalid because it is sinful, apart from the
question of convenience.* Milner's long and vehement
note on the antiquity of clerical celibacy is answered thus :
"We allow his facts and inferences . . . ; but be it re-
membered, that, as Protestants, we have little reverence
for musty canons, when reason, Scripture and nature, re-
claim against them." *
The appearance of the Antiquities of the Saxon Church
by John Lingard, the Roman Catholic historian of Eng-
land, managed to occasion considerable controversy.^
This work was characterized by one reliable reviewer as
a controversial work to extol monks.* This reviewer an-
swers that monasticism at its best is a waste of devotion.
On the merits of celibacy Lingard joined the chorus of
Catholic writers. "On this subject every Catholic writer
dwells with an enthusiasm for which we are at a loss to
account." ^ In fact the controversial publications in this
period * indicate a concerted campaign on the part of Cath-
1 Milner, The History Civil and Ecclesiastical and Survey of the
Antiquities of Winchester, 2nd ed., 1809.
2 Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxx, 147 (Feb., 1810) ; cf. Quar. Rev., iii,
367.
^Quarterly Review, iii, 354-3SS (May, 1810).
^Ibid., p. 354; cf- pp. 365-366.
5 Lingard, The Antiquities of the Saxon Church (1806).
6 Quarterly Review, vii, 93 (Mar., 1812).
''Ibid., p. loi.
8 Cf. Milner, An Inquiry into Certain Vulgar Opinions concerning the
Catholic Inhabitants and Antiquities of Ireland — Addressed to Protes-
tant Gentlemen in England, 1808. Cf. Parkyn, Monastic and Baronial
Remains (London, 1816). Cf. Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxxiii, pt. i, 430
(1813).
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY 41
olic writers to arouse interest in Romanist institutions,
especially monasticism and its chief ally, celibacy.
If there was such a campaign it could hardly be counted
a success, for at the close of the Napoleonic Wars there
seemed little hope of popularizing the Roman monastic
orders, and no suggestion of such things in the Anglican
Communion/ After the peace, however, the proposal to
send the members of the French orders back to the conti-
nent called forth an important book in their defence.^ Its
importance lies not so much in its positive arguments, for
they may be the opinions of only the one man. Further-
more while the writer claims to be a Protestant, the book
appears to be a Jesuitical attempt to present Roman Catho-
lic views. The points of interest to an Anglican history,
however, are the arguments it seeks to answer. In these
negative positions is to be found a good summary of the
English Protestant attitude toward monasticism.
One chief argument which the writer seeks to refute is
the fear of celibacy which some think would deprive Eng-
land of many good citizens. He answers that of the
6,262,716 females in England, Scotland and Wales
3,718,501 are now unmarried. Hence a few nuns will not
1 C/. Eclectic Review, xxiv, 553-5 (1816) ; also Eclectic Review, vi,
232 (1808).
2 A Friend of Religious and Civic Liberty. Reflections on Com-
munities of Women and Monastic Institutes (London, 1815).
The preface gives the aim and occasion. "A Report having been
spread since the last peace, and being still generally prevalent that the
Religious Communities, which the persecuting spirit of the French
Revolution had driven from their convents, would either not be suf-
fered to remain in their native country or obliged to renounce in some
degree their rules and constitution ; I thought it a duty incumbent upon
me to try to remove the fears of some well-meaning people, and to
show that there is nothing in these religious establishments, which can
give the least umbrage to a liberal and enlightened nation." — Preface,
p. I.
42
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
affect the proportion.^ Catholic countries have not suffered
in population. Moreover the celibacy that hurts is that
due to luxury and selfishness.^ A second fear which he
seeks to allay is that nuns will increase the poor rates in
England.^ However, just the opposite will be true, he
shows. The nuns will help in philanthropy, as for instance
in hospitals and asylums. A third belief of the English
Protestant is that a life of retirement, penance and prayer
is one of idleness and social uselessness.* This he answers
by an appeal to the example of the first Christians.^
Fourth, the nun's garb is ridiculed by the Protestants.*" He
replies that this same dress when worn at a masquerade
ball is popular. A fifth ground of Protestant attack is
the austerity and abstemious way of living in convents.'^
These, he maintains, have been greatly mitigated in Eng-
lish convents ; ® and, moreover, greater abstemiousness is
healthful. A sixth argument against monastic orders is
their vows,® which are held to be a restriction of liberty.
He recalls the Biblical sanction. The seventh point of op-
position is really only an exploded superstition, he claims,
namely, that of enclosing nuns.^" A final charge to be met
is that of immorality; and to this the writer in reply shows
how inconsistent the Protestant clergy are to complain
against the nuns while the social evils of the time are
greatly on the increase." A writer who has essayed such
an extensive treatment is pretty sure to have collected a
somewhat complete list of the extant arguments. Here
then is a glimpse of English Protestant opinion on monas-
^ Ibid., p. II, using the census of 1811.
2 Ibid., p. 14. 8 Ibid., p. 59.
3 Ibid., p. 27. 9 Ibid., p. 64, et seq.
* Ibid., p. 43, et seq. ^° Ibid., p. 81, et seq.
= Ibid., p. 45. " Ibid., p. 85.
« Ibid., p. 50, et seq. Ibid., p. 88.
''Ibid., p. 52.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
teries at the close of the Napoleonic Wars. How preva-
lent these views are there is little to indicate; but this
writer treats them as if quite general. In spite of the fact
that the monastic orders were not forced to return to the
continent, England seems no nearer to Anglican monas-
teries than in 1800. Less than thirty years remain before
the first Anglican conventual order was founded on a
permanent basis. In the meantime a broad chasm had to
be bridged.
SEC. II. SOCIAL CONDITIONS FOSTER MONASTIC IDEAS.
1816-1832
In the social history of England the first few years fol-
lowing the Napoleonic Wars are an epochal period of ad-
justment. In monastic history the importance of these
years is less apparent, and hence commonly ignored. It
is nevertheless a time of preparation, without which the
fruit of the forties would have been delayed, if not pre-
vented.
In the first place, the distress of the poor at the close
of the war caused great concern. Through the increased
Poor Rates ^ it brought pressure on the higher classes and
hence the silent suffering of the poor found a voice in the
literature of the time. It recalled the poverty after the
suppression of the monasteries.^ The charity of the for-
mer monasteries was treated in various periodicals. Some
maintained that those establishments were a great social
blessing and that their suppression was "the efficient cause
or occasion of the institution of the Poor Rates." * Others
^Quarterly Review, xv, 196 (April, 1816).
^ Ibid., 193-194; cf. Quarterly Review, xxii, 60 (1819) ; cf. Gen-
tleman's Magazine, pt. i, p. 130 (Feb., 1815) ; cf. Edinburgh Review
(Oct., 1813) ; cf. Blackwood's Magazine, xxxi, 576 (Apr., 1832).
3 Gentleman's Magazine, Feb., 1815, p. 131 ; cf. Quarterly Review,
April, 1816, pp. 193-194.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
refuted this position, holding that the increase of pauperism
came from a wider source than the suppression of the mon-
asteries,^ but that this event "spread the evils over a wider
surface." ^ Some even maintained that "the poor are bet-
ter provided for by a rate equally paid and carefully ad-
ministered than by the gratuitous, and of course, partial
alms of the monasteries." ^ This discussion led to some
quite concrete and positive suggestions on the part of the
Tory party in church and state. The Quarterly Review,
the organ of that party,* devotes considerable space to the
history of monasteries, because it is anxious to bring this
important subject before the better classes.® Moreover it
lifts them out of the realm of mere academic discussion
and restores them to their status of living issues. The
Quarterly would not reestablish the old monastic orders
intact, but it does desire reformed monasteries without
vows and superstitions. They are needed to find fit work
for certain classes, especially women. Thus the Tory or
Church Party, under the influence of the increased poverty
and the growing Poor Rates, is beginning to foreshadow the
work of Pusey and Newman although the motives of the
latter men were quite different, as will be seen.
Another social fact that turned the public attention to-
^ Blackwood's Magazine, xxxi, 576 (April, 1832).
2 Quarterly Review, xxxiii, 437-438 (1825-6).
3 Quarterly Theological Review, i, 290 (1824-5).
* The chief contributors were Gifford, Southey, Scott and Lockhart.
"For a picture of the national mind and opinion, not at its lovely and
lofty fountain heads, nor yet in its low flat levels, but in its upper
civilized ranges, we may well turn to a few faded numbers of the
Edinburgh or the Quarterly." Elton, A Survey of English Literature,
1780-1830, 2 vols., i, 403. "The great Quarterlies tell us, for good or
ill, what half of cultivated Britain was agreed in thinking at a par-
ticular moment." Ibid., cf. Chapman, English Literature in Account
with Religion, p. 130.
^Quarterly Review, xxii (1819), p. 90, et seq.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
ward convents was the surplus of women. The war had
aggravated this condition.^ It was, therefore, advanta-
geous to have these retreats. The reasons were that women
of the middle class feel the economic pressure more than
men. The speculation and extravagance which stopped
with the war left many unemployed, and the women were
less able to adapt themselves than men. On the continent
many women were employed in shops but in England very
few.^ Hence the Anglican Church felt that it must sup-
port asylums for English ladies or the Roman Catholic
convents would get them.
The acuteness of the problem of the surplus women led to
an establishment of a retreat near Bath. "In the spring
of 1815 the Dowager Duchess of Buccleuch, Lady Carys-
foot. Lady Anson, Lady Willoughby, and Lady Clanbrock,
having taken into consideration the plan of an institute
calculated to afford the comforts of life at a moderate ex-
pense to ladies of respectability and small fortunes, agreed
to form an association for promoting establishments of
that nature." ^ While insistence was made on having
women of religious principles, there were no vows, no
openly monastic elements.* Another writer likens it to a
"secular convent." ^ These retreats desired by the High
Church party may have been very unlike the old nunneries
of the 1 6th century, but that they were a step in that di-
rection is shown by the citation of Ferrar's community,
^ The writer of Reflections on Religious Communities of Women
{vide supra) estimated the number of unmarried women of more than
20 years in England, Scotland, and Wales, at 1,239,833, by taking one-
third of all the unmarried women, as given by census of 181 1 (pp.
14-15)-
-Quarterly Review, xxii, 90-91 (1819).
3 Quarterly Review, xxii, p. 96.
* Ihid., p. 98.
^British Review, viii, 457, et seq. (1816).
46
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
of the proposals of Mary Astell, Lady Masham and
others.^
A third social factor in preparing the way for the mo-
nastic orders of women was the need of better nursing.
This subject received much attention in the early part of
the nineteenth century.^ The work of Mrs. Elizabeth Fry
in the prisons, begun in 1813, was really the first practical
demonstration of training nurses in England.^ It stimu-
lated admiration for women's work along all similar lines.
A pamphlet entitled Protestant Sisters of Charity * cited
the commission which Louis XVI had sent to investigate
English hospital conditions. This commission reported
that there were in England two notable deficiencies, viz.,
the zeal of the French parochial clergy and the charity of
the Hospital nuns.^ This interest in better nursing meant
an interest in religious orders, for "there was no inkling
of an idea that refined and conscientious nursing could be
thought of outside the bands of a religious Sisterhood, and
so lacking was that time in a rational humanity, that the
idea would no doubt have seemed preposterous." * Robert
Southey and Dr. Gooch "an eminent and recognized physi-
cian" ^ were leaders in advocating nursing reform and for
this the means in their opinion were Protestant Sisters of
Charity, modelled after the Beguines they had seen in
1 Ibid., pp. 93-95-
2 Dock, History of Nursing, 4 vols. (New York, 1903-12), iv, 62 et
seq.
3 Ibid., p. 72.
* Protestant Sisters of Charity; a Letter Addressed to the Lord
Bishop of London (London, 1825).
^Cf. Quarterly Review, xv, 230 (Apr., 1816).
« Dock, op. cit., ii, 64. Cf. Quarterly Rev., xiii, 470 ; cf. Life and
Correspondence of Robert Southey, ed. by C. C. Southey (N. Y., 1855),
pp. 326 et seq.; cf. Bath Chronicle, Dec. 13, 1808; cf. Blackwood's Mag-
azine, xviii, 732-735 (Dec, 1825).
'Jameson, Sisters of Charity (London, 1855), p. 92.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
Flanders.^ As early as 1816 Southey had written to
Sharon Turner, "Would that they had an order of Beguines
in England! . . . The total abstinence of religion from
our poor-houses, alms-houses and hospitals is as culpable
in one way as the excess of superstition is in another." ^
These nursing Sisters were needed also in the country dis-
tricts. A country curate in a letter addressed to the Bishop
of London, December, 1825, portrays the poor medical
facilities of the rural districts. The doctors are unable to
help, the curates are too poor to help. Hence there is a
need for resident nurses.^ Dr. Gooch goes further and
outlines specific plans. "Let them be selected for good
plain sense, kindness of disposition, and deep piety. Let
them be placed as nurses and pupils in the hospitals of
Edinburgh and London." * When trained they should be
placed two by two in a cottage in the center of some coun-
try district. The interest in this subject was widened by
the reports of the soldiers who had been nursed by the
Sisters of Charity on the continent.^ No comment is
needed to show how this agitation for better nursing, so
long as it was regarded as impossible apart from re-
ligious Sisterhoods, was paving the way for conventual
orders.
SEC. III. CHURCH CONDITIONS TURN ATTENTION TO
MONASTIC ORDERS
As soon as the war was over, attention was turned to
the deplorable state of the church. The church had not
1 Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, p. 326.
2 Ibid.
^Protestant Sisters of Charity, pp. 19-20.
* Quoted in Jameson, op. cit., p. 94.
^ The words of M. Portalis, in praise of the Sisters of Charity who
had ministered to the English soldiers at Pau (1814) : "This digression
may be excused in gratitude to a most useful and exemplary order, to
48
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
kept pace with England's industrial development. The
parochial, like the electoral, system had not been adapted
to changing populations. Even in some country parishes
the Anglican church did not provide for the moral train-
ing of the poor peasantry, leaving them to the mercy of
the Methodists.^ The greatest lack, however, was in the
cities.^ By the Act of 1818 a commission (to continue for
ten years) was appointed to "examine the state of the
parishes and extra-parochial places in the metropolis and
vicinity, and other parts of England and Wales, to ascer-
tain in which additional churches and chapels are most
required, and the most effectual means of affording such
accommodation." f 1,000,000 was put at their disposal.^
In London there were 7 parishes with 20,000 to 30,000
more inhabitants than their churches could hold. In Liver-
pool only 21,000 out of 44,000 could be accommodated
in the established churches. In Manchester the churches
would accommodate 1 1 ,000 out of a population of 79,000.
In the diocese of Winchester church facilities were needed
for 265,000 more persons, or four-fifths of the popula-
tion. In the diocese of York additional churches were
needed for 580,000 people and in diocese of Chester for
1,040,000. In a circle of ten miles around London it was
whose pious offices so many of our wounded countrymen are beholden ;
perhaps also it may lead to some useful thoughts." Quoted in Quar-
terly Review, xiii, 470-471 (July, 1815).
^Quarterly Review, xv, 201 (April, 1816).
2 "The deficiency is greatest in growing towns and cities, the very
places where religious instruction is more peculiarly required; it is
an evil which has arisen with the commercial prosperity of the country
and keeps pace with it." Quarterly Review, xxiii, 554 (1820).
^ Ibid., pp. 553-554 Chalmers, Christian and Civil Economy of
Large Towns, i, 112; cf. Henley, A Plan of Church Reform (London,
1832) ; cf. The Real Causes of the Papal Aggression Considered (Lon-
don, 1851), pp. 7-12.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY 49
estimated that 977,000 were shut out from the common
pastoral offices of the Estabhshed Church/ One writer
estimates that all the churches will accommodate only about
one-tenth of the population.^
In devising a remedy the Churchmen recalled the con-
ditions in the time of the monasteries. "That they (the
monks) interfered with the parochial clergy in many re-
spects and lessened their utility in diminishing their in-
fluence is undeniable; but so long as they existed, there
was no lack of religious instruction, such as it was ; and in
extensive parishes and thinly peopled countries, the itiner-
ant friars performed those duties which a stationary min-
istry could but imperfectly discharge." ^ The more they
compared the present with the past, the more attractive
the old monastic orders looked. "While they existed the
Church had in itself a principle of growth which kept pace
with the growth of cities, the general increase of popula-
tion, and the necessities of society. ... It is to be re-
gretted that the revenues of these orders, instead of being
so scandalously squandered, had not been applied to the
foundation of institutions, such as might easily have been
devised, retaining all that was good in the former without
any of the alloy." * Not only did they look with admira-
tion toward the destroyed monasteries of their own Eng-
land but they also compared the efficiency of the Roman
i/i Friend of Religious and Civil Liberty, Reflections, p. 100; cf. the
six works reviewed in Quarterly Review, xxiii, 552 et scq. (1820).
"^Quarterly Review, xxiii, 555 (1820).
^Quarterly Review, xxiii, 555 (1820).
* Ibid., pp. 552-553 \cf. Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxiv, 722 (Aug.,
1804). The contrast of the manufacturing system with the monastic
is brought out. "Our forefathers built convents and cathedrals — the
edifices which we have erected are manufactories and prisons, the for-
mer producing tenants for the latter." Quarterly Review, xxiii, 554
(1820).
50 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
monastic missionaries with their Protestant organization.*
In spite of their repudiation of Roman CathoHcism, the
increasing favor toward reformed monastic institutions on
the part of the Quarterly Reviewers, who may safely be
taken as the spokesman of the High Church party, is too
apparent for further comment.
SEC. IV. THE INFLUENCE OF CONTINENTAL TRAVEL ON
MONASTIC IDEAS
The popularity of travelling on the continent was marked
among the English after the Napoleonic Wars. So prev-
alent did it become that it called forth many articles on its
dangers.^ Fears were expressed that the English trav-
ellers would imbibe too many of the continental ideas.
"Popish absurdities" were among the tabooed dangers.^
If monastic ideas were classed among the "absurdities,"
the English fears were well-grounded, for certainly many
travellers have left an echo of their admiration. The
privations of the monastics in the war-swept countries
aroused sympathy. "Notwithstanding my staunch Prot-
estantism," writes one tourist, "I sighed during the course
of my tour over the ruins of many a convent, and ten-
derly sympathized with many a monk and nun in their
1 The Quarterly Review (xxiii, 552, 1820) notes that even in Spanish
Indies and Brazil, it is impossible to provide for the spiritual instruc-
tion of the people over so wide a surface; and "if this is impracticable
for the Romish Church, with its celibacy, its power, its admirable
organization, its great auxiliary force of Regulars, under the most
despotic discipline and the zealous aid of government — how much less
is it to be effected by Protestant churches to which all these advan-
tages are wanting." Cf. British Review, xxii, 150-151 (1824), for a
tribute to monks of Canada.
2 Christian Observer, xviii, 668 ct seq. (Oct., 1819) ; cf. Quarterly Re-
view, xxxviii, 145 et seq. (1828) ; cf. Blackwood's Magazine, xxii, 286
(Sept., 1827).
3 Blackwood's Magazine, ibid.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
51
privations." ^ After praising the monks for their industry,
morahty and general humanity, the writer adds, "The
abbots here, as formerly in England, have stood forth the
advocates of the liberty of the people." " The antiquity
and permanence of the monastic institutions gave them a
sort of halo in the eyes of the English traveller, especially
in contrast to the shifting institutions of the recent revolu-
tion.^ The wealth and dignity of some religious orders
elicited admiration * at a time when the Protestant clergy
on the continent and in some cases at home were poor to
the point of inefficiency. The governmental suppression
of monasteries in Spain was condemned by one traveller
as rash and ruthless because of the good works of some
of the institutions.^
The native orders, such as the Sisters of Charity and
the Beguines, came in for the most unqualified praise.
Southey could not speak too highly of these devoted women
)yhom he had seen at Ghent and elsewhere." Dr. Gooch
adds his tribute. "When I was in Flanders recently I saw
at Bruges and Ghent some of this singular and useful
order of nuns — they are all of a respectable station in
society and dedicate themselves to the most menial attend-
ance on the sick." ^ The praise of these Sisters of Char-
ity was echoed by a curate who had lived in France for
1 "A Tour Through Various Parts of the Netherlands and Germany
in 1815," in Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxxvi, pt. ii, pp. 391-392 (Nov.,
1816).
2 Ibid., p. 392.
s Eustace, A Tour Through Italy, ii, 241-242, reviewed in Edinburgh
Review, xxi, 378 et seq. (July, 1813).
* London Magazine, Feb., 1824, describing a Benedictine Monastery
at La Cava.
Blackwood's Magazine, xiv, 163-166 (Aug., 1823).
^ Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, pp. 319-320.
''Blackwood's Magazine, xviii, 732 (Dec, 1825).
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
several years ^ and by "an English Churchman" who had
spent some years on the continent.^ These last mentioned
orders being less restricted and more active, made a greater
appeal to the Protestant Englishman than did the others.
Therefore while he condemned Popery, he could accept
these. For instance, one writes : "I strongly and deeply
lament the errors of Popery. ... In every part of this
country (France) are found numerous respectable females,
who dedicate their whole time to religious and charitable
offices. They are nuns and Roman Catholics, of various
degrees. ... I can not conceive any objection to the in-
stitution of similar societies, under Protestant regulations,
in Great Britain. Protestant females in Great Britain, as
well as Roman Catholic in France, will be ready to do the
good work as soon as competent authority and protection
shall be afforded them. Their offices may be the same
though not bound by the vow which Roman Catholic dis-
cipline requires." ^ Some Churchmen, appealing to the
testimony of "every intelligent person who has travelled
in Catholic countries," praise the popular effect of the
Roman forms and discipline, and "almost wish they had
still been 'suckled in a creed outworn.' " *
While the available record of travellers' impressions can
not be called a conclusive proof, and while a few returned
with animosity renewed,^ the general effect of the exten-
sive continental travel appears to have been a lessening
of the antimonastic prejudice and even a kindling of the
desire for such institutions of a modified type.
1 Protestant Sisters of Charity; A letter addressed to the Lord Bishop
of London, Dec, 1825, p. 17.
2 Christian Remembrancer, Nov., 1822, p. 668.
3 Ibid., quoting a letter from an English Churchman.
^Quarterly Review, xxiii, 555-557 (1820).
6 Blackwood's Magazine, xxii, 285-287 (Sept., 1827) ; cf. London Mag-
azine, Jan., 1823.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
SEC. V. THE ROMANTIC WRITERS AND MONASTIC IDEALS
In addition to Southey, whose interest in monasteries
has already been mentioned/ two other writers at least
deserve mention in this account. Wordsworth's opinion
of monastic institutions is indicated in his Ecclesiastical
Sonnets of 1 820-1. After praising the Saxon monasteries,
he denounces the selfishness, greed and voluptuousness of
the seculars which came to characterize the monks. Hence
their dissolution was a natural consequence. But Words-
worth pictures in sympathetic words the "lonely nuns" go-
ing forth, some glad to be free, but most of them sad and
homeless. He pays his tribute also to the saintly Fisher
and the unbending More. The author says that these
sonnets were occasioned by his love for the past and his
interest in the Catholic Question. From early radicalism,
he had reacted to conservatism, which saw the Roman in-
stitutions, as "not utterly unworthy to endure." "
Greater interest in monastic orders was taken by Sir
Walter Scott. He always spoke of the monks as having
alone kept the lamp of learning alight in a dark and bar-
barous age.^ While he denounced their greed at times, he
did so in no wholesale manner. His belief in the supe-
riority of their architecture was evidenced not only in his
words, but also in his restoration of the old monastery of
Melrose.* To estimate the influence of Scott in arousing
interest in a monastic revival is futile. That his works, so
1 Southey's son, in enumerating his father's interests, gives a place
of prominence to his desire for the establishment of Protestant Sisters
of Charity. Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, p. 380.
-Wordsworth, op. cit.; cf. Cambridge History of English Literature,
xi, 108. "His Ecclesiastical Sonnets are the AngHcan counterpart on a
much narrower basis of Chateaubriand's Genie du Christianisme."
3 Matthews, Abbottsford and Scott (Edinburgh, 1866), p. 167.
*Ibid., p. 161.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
widely read, had some effect in breaking down the preju-
dice against the old Romanist institutions in general is
commonly asserted. "Bishops and priests, monks and
nuns, pilgrims and crusaders, no longer hideous caricatures
produced by ignorance and prejudice, were presented to
English eyes in their true colors. The sarcasm with which
Scott lashed unworthy and ambitious prelates, profligate
priests, lazy and debauched friars, only enhances the rever-
ence with which, in his novels and poems, he speaks of
austere and holy men under the monk's cowl or the bishop's
mitre." ^ Scott's influence should be classed as one of the
antecedents of the Oxford Movement as well as of the
Catholic Emancipation.^ A specific instance of this influ-
ence is found in the Reminiscences of Forty Years by an
Hereditary High Churchman.^ "My mother," he says,
"initiated me in the Waverley Novels." "As I read
through Sir Walter Scott's poems and novels, it seemed to
me that the priests and services of the Church of Rome
had more than a due share of rich dresses, music and ac-
companiments, as well as of influence with their flocks." *
In breaking down anti-Romanist superstitions and paving
the way for the Oxford Movement, Scott deserves a place
as an indirect antecendent of the monastic revival. More-
over his specific attention to monks and nuns must have
had a direct influence in this movement, although it can
not be proven or measured. The share of the Romantic
^ Purcell, Life and Letters of Ambrose Philip de Lisle, 2 vols. (Lon-
don, 1900) p. 169.
2 Gladstone said : "I am delighted to see that among the antecedent
forces of the (Oxford) Movement you have given a prominent place
to Sir Walter Scott." Ibid., p. i6g.
3 Smith, Reminiscences of Forty Years, by an Hereditary High
Churchman (London, 1868), p. 5.
* Ibid., p. ID.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
writers, therefore, in reviving monastic ideas must be recog-
nized but not overestimated/
SEC. VI. EVIDENCES OF INTEREST IN MONASTIC REVIVAL
Did all the above factors produce any results ? It is of
course impossible definitely to assign causes in the realm
of influence. We can speak only of antecedents; but the
evidences of interest in monastic orders during this period
are worthy of note. The popularity of books on this sub-
ject is a good criterion. For example the new edition of
Dugdale's Monasticon ^ was subscribed for with great avid-
ity before its publication.^ Fosbrooke's British Monachistn
exhausted its first edition and a second was soon re-
quired.* In 1824 Southey wrote that his publisher rec-
ognized the popular interest in his proposed History of the
Monastic Orders and was negotiating with him. If he
should of¥er him £500 a volume, Southey would make it
his chief employment.' Dr. Gooch's articles on better nurs-
ing and the need of Sisters of Charity seem to have aroused
considerable interest. Southey writes to him on December
18, 1825, "It is not surprising that your letters in Black-
wood should have produced so much impression." *
The interest in monastic institutions, however, still
seemed to be greater on the negative side. If there was
some High Church enthusiasm for the revival or intro-
duction of certain religious orders, there was more general
1 Mention should be made of Disraeli's tribute to the former monas-
teries in his novel Sybil (1845), 2nd ed., 67, passim (London, 1881).
2 Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, new ed. (London, 1817-1830).
^Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxxiii, pt. i, p. 430 (1813).
*2nd ed., 1817.
5 Letter to G. C. Bedford, in Life and Correspondence of Robert
Southey, p. 426.
* Letter to Dr. Gooch, ibid., p. 439.
56
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
interest in preventing the purely monastic elements. The
opposition to enforced clerical celibacy was very marked.'
The immorality of contemporary foreign convents and the
fieterioration of the former monasteries were cited. Some,
therefore, condemned the whole monastic principle.^
Southey, on the other hand, considered the revival of re-
ligious orders as possible without the irrevocable vows of
celibacy. He recognized the uselessness and impropriety
of celibacy,^ at the same time declaring the dissolution of
the Religious Houses to be the greatest evil attending the
Reformation.*
Not only celibacy but monastic vows of other kinds were
repugnant to the Englishmen at this time. "I know that
jto an Englishman, to whom liberty is almost every bless-
ing, the mention of obedience, enclosures, and especially
of an irrevocable engagement, immediately strikes his mind
with disgust and horror." ^ Ascetic practices also had to
be apologized for, defended and denied by the advocates
of monasteries in England.*^ Southey in his revived orders
would "take from such communities {i.e., the pre-Reforma-
tion institutions] their irrevocable vows, their onerous laws,
their ascetic practices." He admitted that the name
"nunnery" is deservedly obnoxious because of these popish
A Friend of Religious and Civil Liberty, Reflections, etc., p. lo; cf.
Eclectic Review, viii, 497 et scq. (1817) ; xi, 265 et seq. (1819) ; cf.
Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxxviii, pt. i, pp. 43 et seq.; cf. Quarterly
Theological Review, iii, 93 et seq. (1826) ; cf. Christian Remembrancer,
Sept., 1822, p. 528; cf. Blackwood's Magazine, xxi, 63 (Jan., 1827).
2£. g., Quarterly Theological Review, iii, 99 (1826); cf. The Chris-
tian Remembrancer, Sept., 1822, p. 528.
3 Sir Thomas More; or Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects
of Society, 2 vols. (London, 1829), ii, 39.
*Ibid., p. 36.
5 A Friend of Religious and Civic Liberty. Reflections, etc., p. 64.
^Ibid., pp. 52-59-
''Sir Thomas More; or Colloquies, ii, 36.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY 57
corruptions, especially the life-long vows. "This dreadful
abuse is so notorious that such institutions would not be
tolerated even in superstitious countries unless some weighty
advantages were found in them, whereof the great body
of the people are sensible. And how easily might those
advantages be obtained in communities founded upon the
principles of our own Church and liable to no such evils !" ^
It is because the Beguines are free from such vows, that
he chose them for his model. ^ But that he looked upon
the religious life as no temporary state is shown by his
statement that no one was ever known to leave an estab-
lishment of Beguines which he visited.^
In such an atmosphere, the only monastic orders that
could be expected in England must be of a decidedly re-
formed type, A very complete summary of the qualifica-
tions demanded "by many thinking men" is found in
Sharon Turner's popular History of the Anglo-Saxons.*
Even now in the opinion of many thinking men, if they were
confined to the middle and declining periods of life, if they
were frequented by those only, who, after having discharged
all their social duties, desired to withdraw from the occupa-
tion, troubles and fascinations of the world, to a halcyon calm
of mind, uninterrupted study, tranquil meditation, or devo-
tional sensibility; if they were not shocked by indissoluble
vows of continence, imprisoning the repining: if they were
1 Ibid., pp. 36-37-
2 Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, p. 439.
^ Ibid., p. 320. Southey also expressed approval of a life as strict
as that of the Franciscans. "If you had seen, as I once did, a Fran-
ciscan of fourscore, standing in the cloister of his convent, where his
brothers lay beneath his feet, and telling his beads with a countenance
expressive of the most perfect and peaceful piety, you would have felt
with me how desirable it was that there should be such institutions for
minds so constituted." Letter to Sharon Turner, Apr. 2, 1816. Ibid.,
p. 326.
* 1828 ed., Tom. iii, 491. 7th ed., 1852, shows its popularity.
58
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
made seminaries of education, and allowed to be temporary asy-
lums of unprovided youth ; and if their rules and habits were
framed on such moral plans and religious formulae as should
be found worthy of an intellectual age, which seeks to combine
the fancy and the feeling in a sweet harmony with its knowl-
edge and reason ; thus formed and directed, such institutions
might again contribute to the happiness of the aged, the desti-
tute, sorrowful, lonely, abstracted, studious, pensive, unambi-
tious, embarrassed and the devout as well as to the instruc-
tion of the young, the relief to the poor, and the revival of
religious sensibility in the community at large.
From the close of the Napoleonic Wars to the beginning
of the Oxford Movement, the revival of religious orders
in England has been seen to have aroused considerable in-
terest. There w^as much opposition to celibacy, vows,
asceticism, the distinctively monastic elements. But the
social utility of modified orders had gained a rather wide
recognition, especially among the High Church party. Per-
haps most important of all was the great enthusiasm
aroused in a few leaders, particularly Southey. Some
progress is evident, when a man of his influence will say,
"It is not speaking too strongly to assert that the establish-
ment of Protestant nunneries, upon a wise plan and liberal
scale, would be the greatest benefit that could possibly be
conferred upon these kingdoms.^ Not only did he desire
them, he expected them within thirty years." It was very
fitting, therefore, that the first Anglican Sisterhood should
have been proposed as a memorial to Robert Southey after
his death in 1843.
In the light of this chapter, no longer can Pusey be called
^ Sir Thomas More: or Colloquies, ii, 36.
2 Ibid., p. 330.
PREPARATION OF ENGLISH SOCIETY
the father of the monastic revival in the English Church.
The social movements of the first thirty years of the nine-
teenth century prepared the soil ; Pusey and the Tractarians
set out the monastic plant.
CHAPTER IV
The Development of the Distinctively Monastic
Elements
sec. I. the growth of interest in celibacy
The monks and nuns of Henry VHI's time would not
have felt at home in the institutions which Southey desired.
The new orders were to be purified of the distinctively
monastic elements. The social need, which alone impelled
Southey, required neither vows nor asceticism. These how-
ever were to come in through the religious interest ; and in
the important revival beginning in 1833.
The way for this religious revival had been prepared by
various influences. The old principles of Laud and the
Caroline Divines had never entirely died out even in the
lethargy of the eighteenth century.^ The Evangelical
Movement had raised the public standard of personal piety.
The Napoleonic Wars and subsequent travel had reopened
the continent to Englishmen and given them a view of con-
tinental Christianity. The Romantic writers had revived
interest in the religion of the Middle Ages.^ There were
other antecedent influences ; but, far reaching as these were,
the immediate occasion of the Oxford Movement must be
sought in the political as well as in the religious conditions
of the times. Many signs betokened that the Church was
in danger. Roman Catholic emancipation and the aboli-
^ Smith, Reminiscences of Forty Years, by an Hereditary High
Churchman (London, 1868).
2 Kempson, in Pax, Dec, 1907, p. 345 ; cf. Patterson, A History of
the Church of England, p. 404.
60
DEVELOPMENT
6i
tion of the Test Act threw the legislature open to non-
churchmen; and the Reform Bill put in power the indus-
trial classes, who were not as a rule friendly to the Estab-
lished Church. The Irish Temporalities Bill, suppressing
ten bishoprics and two archbishoprics in Ireland without
consulting the clergy, showed that the Church was hence-
forth to be governed by Parliament. This led on July
14, 1833 to the Rev. John Keble's preaching at St. Mary's,
Oxford, his memorable sermon on "The National Apos-
tasy." Newman in after years says of it: "I have ever
considered and kept the day as the start of the Religious
Movement of 1833."^
The so-called Oxford movement was designed to pro-
claim to the world that the Church of England was no
Protestant body established by law but a branch of the
ancient Catholic Church. Newman became convinced that
"antiquity was the true exponent of the Doctrines of Chris-
tianity and the basis of the Church of England." ^
In their study of the ancient church, the Oxford School
examined "the whole range of the doctrine and discipline
and moral and religious habits, of the primitive depositories
of faith ; and amongst the rest the question of the esteem in
which celibacy was held." ^ They could hardly have failed
to become interested in celibacy, for if the statement of one
of their contemporaries that it "stands forward as the
most prominent characteristic of ancient Christianity," * is
too sweeping, at least Pusey took notice that it was a primi-
tive doctrine.^ This interest, however, found little expres-
1 Grey, F. W., in American Catholic Quarterly, xxxiv, 504.
2 Newman, Apologia pro vita sua (London, 1897), p. 26.
3 Beaven, Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures and of the Primitive
Church on the Subject of Religious Celibacy (London, 1841), p. 6.
^ Taylor, Ancient Christianity and the Doctrines of the Oxford Tracts
(London, 1844), i, 60.
5 Pusey, A Letter to Richard, Bishop of Oxford (Oxford, 1839).
62
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
sion. In 1839, Isaac Taylor said the Tractarians had
scrupulously avoided the subject of celibacy.^ He attri-
buted their silence to fear. "They are not so devoid of
worldly discretion, or so regardless of the temper of the
times they live in, as not to have felt that, to protrude the
ancient doctrine concerning the merits of virginity, at so
early a stage of their proceedings would have been a meas-
ure that must have proved fatal to the cause they are pro-
moting." ^ Whatever the Tractarians' motive, they had not
made any official pronouncement on the subject of celibacy.
"Nowhere in the Tracts" wrote Pusey to the Bishop of Ox-
ford, "have there been put forth any recommendations
whether of celibacy in general, or that of the clergy in par-
ticular. It has not been inculcated nor even named in the
Tracts ; and what has elsewhere been said by any who have
written in the Tracts, has been dropped incidentally; there
has been nothing of systematic promotion of this state.
When mentioned, it has been with reference to specific
cases." '
Pusey's letter indicates that some admiration for celibacy
already existed among the Oxford leaders. Investigation
bears this out. John Henry Newman, tells of his early de-
cision to lead the single life. In his "Apologia" he writes:
"I am obliged to mention another deep imagination which
at this time, the autumn of 1816, took possession of me,
viz., that it would be the will of God that I should lead a
single life. This anticipation, which has held its ground al-
most continuously ever since — with a break of a month
now and a month then, up to 1829, and after that date,
without any break at all — was more or less connected in
1 Taylor, op. cit., p. 60; cf. Wackerbarth, The Revival of Monastic
Institutions (Colchester, 1839). Preface, p. x.
2 Taylor, op. cit., p. 62.
* Pusey, op. cit., p. 140.
DEVELOPMENT 63
my mind with the notion, that my calling in life would re-
quire such a sacrifice as celibacy involved; as for instance,
missionary work among the heathen, to which I had a great
drawing for some years. It also strengthened my feel-
ing of separation from the visible world, of which I have
spoken above." ^ Two facts are noticeable in Newman's
statement. First, his early motive was largely a practical
one; second, he became firmly determined in his idea after
1829.
These two facts involve a consideration of Newman's
friend, Richard Hurrell Froude. It is probable that New-
man's idea of celibacy was both strengthened and spiritual-
ized by contact with Froude.^ The latter was a celibate
on religious principles. He maintained the intrinsic ex-
cellence of virginity of which he considered the Blessed
Virgin to be the great pattern.' He hated the Reformers;
he loved the Fathers. "Acting on Froude's advice, New-
man set himself to study the Anglican theologians of the
seventeenth century — Andrewes, Laud and the Caroline
divines. And he felt his early devotion to the Ancient
Fathers revive, and undertook to read them in chronolog-
ical order." * The pro-monastic ideas of the seventeenth
century clergy have been noted ; ' their ideas on celibacy can
^Apologia (1897 ed.), p. 7; cf. When returning from his father's
funeral, Oct. 6, 1824, he wrote in his diary: "When I die shall I be
followed to the grave by my children? My mother said the other day
she hoped to live, to see me married ; but I think I shall die within
college walls, or as a missionary in a foreign land." Mozley, Letters
and Correspondence of J. H. Newman, i, p. gi.
2 Guiney, Hurrell Froude (London, 1904), pp. 66-67.
3 Thureau-Dangin, The English Catholic Revival in the Nineteenth
Century, ed. by Wilfrid Wilberforce (London, 1914), 2 vols., i, 35; cf.
Hutton, Cardinal Neivman (London, 1891), p. 35.
* Thureau-Dangin, op. cit., p. 36.
' Chapter i.
64
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
easily be imagined/ Thus, under Froude's influence,
Newman's practical ideas of celibacy found a spiritual and
theoretical basis. Froude had a touch of mysticism.^ His
forced physical inactivity owing to ill health made him con-
templative and influenced his views of life/ Newman was
a man of a tender feeling and of very human disposition.
When visiting at Dartington in 183 1 he enjoyed the com-
pany of merry girls, but he escaped.* "Nothing is plainer
than that the arch-celibate was Froude and not Newman;
perhaps it would be quite exact to say that the idea, in
Froude as in Pascal, was wholly endemic, and in Newman
only so in part." ^ A letter of Newman to Froude shows
the former's attitude toward vows, and indicates that the
1 Jeremy Taylor, "Natural virginity, of itself, is not a state more
acceptable to God ; but that which is chosen and voluntary, in order to
the conveniences of religion, and separated from wordly incumbrances,
is therefore better than the married life." Quoted from "the most
popular of his works" in British Critic, xxvi, 455-456 (Oct., 1839).
Bishop Montague: "I know no doctrine of our English Church
against them [Evangelical Counsels]. I do believe there are and ever
were evangelical counsels, such as St. Paul mentioned in his Consilium
autem do [concerning Virginity] ; such as our Saviour pointed at and
directed unto in his Qui potest capere capiat [on the same subject]";
from Montague's Appcllo Cacsarem. A Just Appeal from Two Unjust
Informers, p. 215. Quoted in British Critic, xxxii, 362 (Oct., 1842).
Archbishop Laud wished to encourage celibacy through his appoint-
ments, and would have done so, had the times allowed. He was a sin-
gle man himself. From Heylin, Cyprianus Anglicus ; or the history
of the life and death of William {Laud), Archbishop of Canterbury,
p. 224, quoted in British Critic, xxxii, 362 (Oct., 1842).
Bishop Andrewes gave thanks for the virgin life. His life of celi-
bacy was mentioned in his epitaph. British Critic, loc. cit., p. 363.
Archbishop Bramhall disapproved of perpetual vows, but thought
England should have orders like the "Canonesses and Biggins on the
other side of the sea." British Critic, ibid., p. 63.
2 Guiney, op. cit., p. 121.
^ Ibid., p. 122.
* Ibid., p. 67.
^ Ibid., pp. 66-67.
DEVELOPMENT
65
latter may perhaps have suggested them. "I have thought
vows {e. g., of celibacy) are evidences of want of faith.
Why should we look to the morrow ? It will be given us to
do our duty as the day comes ; to bind duty by f orestalment
is to lay up manna for seven days ; it will corrupt us." ^ As
fellows of the same college and fellow travellers their ideas
reacted upon each other, strengthening both.'
Froude's poor health and early death in 1836 left to New-
man the promotion of their ideas of celibacy. This he did
anonymously in the British Magaaine, June, 1835.^ "It is
not more culpable, in the nature of things, for a given indi-
vidual to take a vow of celibacy, than to take a vow of mar-
riage, though of course it is as sinful in a father to force a
daughter into a convent as it is to force her to a marriage
she dislikes, and as inexpedient to take a monastic vow
hastily, as to marry before one has come to years of discre-
tion." If people charge him with Popery, he asks them
in which one of the Articles is monasticism condemned.
Then he adds a scriptural argument, "I beg to remind them
that St. Paul, as far as the letter of his epistle goes, does
prefer and recommend celibacy." * Newman seems to have
expressed his preference for celibacy not only in this article
but in his attitude toward his friends, who might succumb
to the wiles of love. For instance, H. W. Wilberforce was
almost afraid to tell Newman of his engagement. He wrote
to one of their mutual friends, "Whether Neander (New-
1 Mozley, Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman during his
Life in the English Church, 2 vols. (London, 1891), i, 220.
Ibid., ii, 19-21. When a man married his fellowship ipso facto be-
came vacant. (Thureau-Dangin, op. cit., i, 27.)
3 Vol. vii, 663. That he wrote this article is admitted in his letter
to Froude, July, 1835; Mozley, op. cit., ii, 112.
* It is significant of the tenor of the times that the Editor adds to
this article: "The Editor begs to remind his readers that he is not
responsible for the opinions of his correspondents."
66
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
man) will cut me, I don't know. ... It is, I am sure, very-
foolish of Newman on mere principles of calculation if he
gives up all his friends on their marriage." ^
From these citations it is seen that Taylor was not en-
tirely correct when he said that the Tractarians had scrupu-
lously avoided expressing themselves on the subject of celi-
bacy.^ Froude in his Remains had been shown to desire
colleges of celibate priests in the large cities,* as shall be
seen later, and Newman in the British Magazine had advo-
cated the single life, but without signing his name. Hence
Pusey could say that their references to celibacy were
"dropped incidentally." * In fact it might be more exact to
say they were dropped cautiously.^ Whether it was due to
fear of public opposition or uncertainty of attitude on the
part of the Tractarians themselves it is difficult to say.
In 1839 this comparative silence was broken. The gen-
eral interest in celibacy seems to have been growing for
some time." But it now was brought into the limelight by
Isaac Taylor's Ancient Christianity and the Doctrines of
the Oxford Tracts. This extensive and popular ^ book
threw a bomb into the Tractarian camp. It made celibacy
1 Letter of H. W. Wilberforce to F. Rogers, Esq., Jan., 1834, in Moz-
ley, Letters and Correspondence, ii, 20-21. In this case he did not "cut"
Wilberforce and subsequently became godfather to his first-born son.
-Ancient Christianity, i, 60.
3 Froude, Remains (ed. by J. H. Newman and John Keble), 2 pts.
(London, 1838-1839), i, 322.
* Letter to Bishop of Oxford, p. 140.
= C/. British Critic, xxvi, 456 (Oct., 1839)-
«The British Critic, xxvi, 454 (Oct., 1839), reviewing MacDonough's
Life of Nicholas Ferrar, tells of its popularity, requiring a second edi-
tion, and says : "It is a good sign of a love for what is good and holy,
and above our age, that there should be a demand for such a work.
... It indicated on the face of it that the single state given to devo-
tion was the higher line to choose."
' It reached the fourth edition by 1844. Cf. British Magazine, xvi, 648
(1839); also cf. Beaveii, p. 28.
DEVELOPMENT
67
the test of reliability of the early church.^ If this was the
"most prominent characteristic" ^ of primitive Christianity,
and the Oxford School based their arguments on the tenets
of the early church, then an attack on celibacy was a vital
matter to them. At first they tried to ignore the book, but
its popularity was too great/ Hence they made a counter-
attack. Their three lines of argument are interesting. The
British Critic, the avowed organ of the Tractarians, at-
tacked Ancient Christianity for its false assumptions of im-
morality in the early church. It did not deny the existence
of celibacy, but it maintained that Taylor had deduced his
charges of immorality from patristic warnings rather than
from records of actual occurrences.*
A second line of refutation was taken by the British Mag-
azine. It denied the prominence of celibacy and the exist-
ence of real monasticism in the early church.^ "It so hap-
pens that the early fathers are very sparing in their allusions
to celibacy. ... So few, indeed, are their allusions, that a
dozen lines would contain almost all that is to be found on
the subject in the genuine works of the earliest six
fathers." ® The Epistles of Cyprian show that there were
no distinct societies of celibates.^ The Magazine refutes
1 One of his propositions to be proved was : "That the notions and
practices connected with the doctrine of the superlative merit of re-
ligious celibacy, were at once the causes and the effects of errors in
theology, of perverted moral sentiments, of superstitious usages, of
hierarchical usurpations ; and that they furnish us with a criterion for
estimating the general value of Ancient Christianity ; and, in a word,
afford reason enough for regarding, if not with jealousy, at least with
extreme caution, any attempt to induce the modern church to imitate
the ancient church." (1844 ed., i, p. 65.)
2 Ibid., i, 60.
^British Magazine , xvi, 648 (1839).
* British Critic, xxvi, 440 et seq. (Oct., 1839).
^British Magazine, xvii, 190, 419, and 516 (1840).
^ Ibid., p. 419.
7 Ibid., p. 64.
68 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Taylor's assertions as to TertuUian, saying that Tertullian
advocated no vow of celibacy, in his "Ad Uxorem." ^ Tay-
lor's error is that he has quoted from spurious works of the
Fathers. Hence the real tenets of the early church are not
afifected by his charges.^
A third and most significant line of defence was that
taken by Pusey and others. These writers admitted the
celibacy of the early church and defended it as a higher
state. Pusey can not read certain passages of the Bible
without acknowledging that while marriage is honorable,
there is a still more excellent way for "those to whom it
is given." ^ While Rome has tried in vain to conform all
her clergy to the celibate standard, Pusey thinks the An-
glican Church should not be equally narrow by trying
to force a mediocre standard on all by requiring marriage.
This forced mediocrity drives some into the Roman Church.*
Not only is the single life spiritually higher; it is more
efficient, especially in the great cities.^ Also orders of
celibate women, like the Sisters of Charity, are better than
the desultory visiting societies."
Newman's attitude was quite similar to Pusey's. He
charges Taylor with gross misrepresentation; but says the
1 Ibid., p. 391.
- The attention given to this book is shown by the large amount of
space it receives in the British Magazine .
^Letter to Richard, Bishop of Oxford, p. 141 (1839). This is cor-
roborated in Pusey's opinion by the Anglican Marriage Service. It
"goes further and in the midst of its touching commendation of the
'honorable estate' of matrimony, implies a holy celibacy to be, for those
to whom it is given, a higher state. For in that it speaks of conti-
nency as a 'gift,' it must imply that it is an especial favor of God to
those to whom it is given." From a Letter to Dr. Jelf, quoted in Vaux,
"Clerical Celibacy," in Shipley, The Church and the World (London,
1866), pp. 129-130.
* Ibid., p. 144.
^ Ibid., p. 144.
6 Ibid., p. 145-
DEVELOPMENT
69
real hitch is that the clergy do not want celibacy. Hence
they support Taylor, while the laity, who think clerical
celibacy would be a blessing, do not take to him.^ That
Newman stood with the supposed position of the laity in
praising celibacy is clear in his Lives of the Saints as
well as in his earliest letters, which we have seen.^ For
instance, in his Life of St. Wilfrid,^ he writes: "And
there is yet another more excellent way of advancing the
Catholic cause, which the young would do well to look
to who require some field for their zeal. What poetry
more sweet, and yet withal more awfully real — indeed
hourly realized by the sensible cuttings of the very cross —
than the pursuit of Holy Virginity." * What Newman had
before confided to a few intimate friends, he now after
1839, declared in the open. The Scriptural argument was
used by various other Tractarian writers and sympathizers
in their defence of celibacy as a higher state.'
1 Letter to J. W. Bowden, Esq., Jan. 5, 1840 : "It is curious to find
that the lawyers and laity do not take to Mr. Taylor, but the clergy
do. For why? Because the doctrine of celibacy touches the latter.
Put aside Mr. T's gross misrepresentation ; this is the real hitch at bot-
tom. . . . Not Mr. Taylor, but Dr. Wiseman, seems taking the law-
yers ; so I hear." Mozley, Letters and Correspondence of J. H. New-
man, ii, 294-295.
2 Cf. supra, p. 65.
3 pp. 205-208.
* Quoted in Crosthwaite, Modern Hagiology, 2 vols. (London, 1846),
i, PP- 95-96.
''The British Critic, xxx, 315 (Oct., 1841), bases its position on
Christ's words in Matt. 19:12 and on St. Paul. Cf. xxxiv, 515 (Oct.,
1843). Oakley (in his Meditation on the Marriage at Cana, pp. 103-
107) says : "By his calling John from it. He gave us clearly to under-
stand that the spiritual marriage of the soul with Him in a single life
is far more perfect (than the married life of earth)"; quoted in Cros-
thwaite, i, 279.
Beaven (op. cit., pp. 32 et seq.) relies on Matt. 19:10-12 for Christ's
tribute to celibacy and on I Cor. 7, in which Paul says that celibacy
offers fewer hindrances to piety.
70 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
This third position on ceHbacy may be called the char-
acteristic one of the Tractarians who survived after the
development of 1839 and 1840.^ A number had felt for
some time that celibacy was a higher state, as has been
shown. Now they openly maintained it on the basis of
Scripture.
Many other arguments beside the Scriptural were
brought to its defence. Single persons are less entangled
with the affairs of this life than are the married. They
can, therefore, give themselves more completely to works
of charity and self-denial.^ Such unselfish and devoted
work is needed especially in reclaiming the great cities,
where the married parochial clergy are overwhelmed.^
There is difficulty in finding clergy for the out-stations
where great zeal is required and poor pay is given. Celi-
bate priests could go out to these as did St. Paul.* The
church must put forth redoubled efforts to regain what
was lost by the supineness of the past generation.' This
is possible only through the labors of single, self-sacrificing
clergy. The materialistic age would be turned to higher
things by "the very presence of a class of Christians, who
show in their whole lives and demeanor that they are
Faber, in Lights and Thoughts in Foreign Churches and Among For-
eign Peoples (London, 1842), p. 125, puts the Scriptural argument
first.
Bennet, in Apostasy — A Sermon (London, 1847), p. 6, says: "Holy
Orders is the taking up of our individual marriage ; and setting it aside
as if nothing, then raising up before our view that chaste and holy
spouse, which the Lord Jesus sent forth himself to work His mercies
for lost men."
1 Cf. Palmer, A Narrative of Events Connected with the Publication
of the Tracts for the Times (Oxford, 1843), p. 5.
'^British Critic, xxvi, 456 (Oct., 1839).
3 British Critic, xxvi, 456-457.
* Beaven, op. cit., p. 53.
5 Ibid., p. 53.
DEVELOPMENT
71
dead to secular cares and pleasures and that their hearts
and affections are absorbed in Heavenly realities ; men who
live a mortified life, a life above the world; who choose
poverty and vow celibacy, and refuse wealth and distinc-
tion when offered." ^
All these reasons and others, for clerical celibacy are
given by Frederic W. Faber in his Lights and Thoughts."^
In fact, he gives nineteen arguments. He himself assumes
to defend the married clergy of England and puts the
arguments for celibacy in the mouth of the "Man from the
Middle Ages." It requires, only a little knowledge of
Faber, however, to see that this is only a literary ruse, and
that he is really writing an apologetic for the extreme
Tractarian position on celibacy. Some of his arguments
overlap. Hence they can be considerably condensed.
Those not already given by others are in substance : ( i )
Celibacy enables one to show his natural affection for chil-
dren toward humanity at large. (2) If God has kept a
man pure in school and college, does not that see ma provi-
dential sign that he should remain single? (3) If a per-
son's love has been crossed, that is a hint of providence
that he should never marry. (4) Celibacy gives one the
means of making a great venture for Christ's sake. (5) It
affords to a priest ways in which meek hearts may attain
to a stronger feeling of communion with the rest of West-
ern Christendom.' (6) Celibacy is a special cure for cer-
tain defects of character, as for instance, the desire for
soft living. (7) It may remedy defects of character by
being an atonement for past sin.
The effect of all this defence of celibacy by the Oxford
1 Ward, The Ideal of a Christian Church (2nd ed., London, 1844),
p. 413; cf. British Critic, xxxiv, 52-53 (July, 1843).
2 P. 123.
3 This is rather significant in view of Faber's later union with Rome.
72 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
School is perhaps best indicated in the words of a con-
temporary :
The Reformation had left the question of clerical marriage to
the consciousness of the individual, but the words of the
Ordinal and the overwhelming preponderance of public opin-
ion implied its general desirability. Of late years two influ-
ences have conspired to modify this view. The first is the
heightened conception of the mystery of the priesthood, em-
phasized by the first Tractarians, which has once more raised
the idea of clerical celibacy to a position of spiritual attrac-
tiveness. The other is the fact that, owing to the pressure of
poverty at home and demands of mission work abroad, the
marriage of a considerable portion of the clergy has become
practically impossible.'^
The Tractarians had revived the ideas of celibacy held
by the seventeenth century theologians.^ Those earlier
divines succeeded in bringing forth only a few sporadic
attempts, like Ferrar's, because of the hostile spirit of their
times. How were the celibate ideas of Pusey, Newman
and their followers to be received? Taylor had accused
these leaders of keeping silence through fear ^ of the gen-
eral opposition, for he said, "There are, I presume, very
few Protestants or any clergyman of the Protestant church,
who would profess to think the monkish institution ab-
stractedly good, and the celibacy of the clergy a wise and
useful provision." * That there is some ground for the
1 Cruttwell, Six Lectures ■on the Oxford Movement (London, 1899),
p. 133-
2 "A numerous and powerful party has arisen even in the bosom of
the Church of England itself, whose object seems to be to revive the at-
tempts made by Archbishop Laud and his followers in the seventeenth
century, and to assimilate the discipline, if not the doctrine, of the
Church of England with that of the Church of Rome." The Church-
man, 1843, p. 764.
3 Ancient Christianity, i, 62.
* Ibid., p. 123.
DEVELOPMENT
72,
charge that the Tractarians had been cautiously waiting
to avow their position on celibacy is shown by their organ,
the British Critic} "Expectations have been entertained
of the effect of the first open avowal of opinion on the
subject of celibacy on the part of those said to be favor-
able." ^ The extreme High Churchman thus seemed to stand
pretty much alone in their admiration for celibacy. How-
ever voluntary celibacy, without vows, was regarded by
the moderates as possible in the Church of England.^ The
dislike of it before the Oxford Movement, even by those
who, like Southey, desired reformed monastic orders, has
been seen, and after the Movement had been extending its
influence for more than twenty years. Bishop Harold
Brown, writing on the Thirty-nine Articles, boldly says,
"With us marriage is ever esteemed the more honorable
estate." * Although the advocates of celibacy were thus
few, their enthusiasm was growing during the next few
years following 1839. It was destined to produce far
more lasting institutions of celibacy than the agitation of
the seventeenth century. The glorification of a celibate
ministry led to the idea that virginity was a more honor-
able state than matrimony and thus contributed to the estab-
lishment of strictly "religious" orders.
SEC. II. THE EFFECT OF THE OXFORD MOVEMENT ON THE
INTEREST IN MONASTICISM
Considerable space has been given to the development
of ideas of celibacy not only because it is the chief ally
of monasticism but because its advocates in this case con-
iXXVl, 456 (Oct., 1839).
2 Ibid., p. 456. Cf. Beaven, op. cit., p. 7 ; cf. Edinburgh Review, xlii,
16 (Apr., 1825).
^English Review, x, 73, 74 and 60 (1848).
* Browne, Bishop of Ely, Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles
(London, 1856), p. 757,
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
nected it with the revival of monastic orders. Taylor at-
tacked the monks of the ancient church as well as the celi-
bates in general. He regarded the one as dangerous as
the other. Some of his opponents, however, admit the
existence of celibacy in the primitive church but deny the
presence of real monks and nuns.^ To the Tractarian mind
the desideratum was the formation of communities of
celibate priests.
When did this desire first arouse interest in the nine-
teenth century? Mr. Bennett, one of the Oxford School,
said of the revival of monasteries: "Previous to 1833
there was not an idea of such a thing as possible except
in connection with the Church of Rome." ^ On the other
hand a member of an Anglican monastic community
now alive, speaking of the same thing, said, "In many
ways it would be true to state that the Evangelical move-
ment gave the spirit, and the Catholic movement the form,
for this revival."^ Which view is correct? As has been
shown, the monastic idea had never perished in England
until chilled to death by the eighteenth century,* though
since the French Revolution, the English soil had been
prepared for its revival.^ The personal piety, developed
by the Evangelical Movement, fretted under the adverse
conditions of church and society. The Evangelicals saw
the need of something, while Southey and the High
Churchmen of the third decade of the century had diag-
nosed that need and offered as a remedy reformed con-
ventual orders, especially of women. But for the old
orders, with all their monastic elements, there was neither
^British Magazine, xvii, 190 (1840).
2 Bennett, Some Results of the Tractarian Movement of 1833 (Lon-
don, 1867), p. 20.
3Frere, English Church IVays (Milwaukee, 1914), P- 82.
* Chap. i.
' Chaps, ii and iii.
DEVELOPMENT
75
desire nor expectation. Both writers here quoted have,
therefore, approximated the truth.
And yet in 1839 advocate of revived monasteries said
that he could find only three brief statements in favor of
them in recent years.^ One of these was by Sharon Turner
in his History of the Anglo-Saxons.'^ A second was
a letter in the British Magazine some two years before,'
which "was coldly received." And lately he had heard
that Froude had treated it in his Remains. Taylor in
the same year bears witness to the comparative silence.*
For six years, therefore, the Tractarians had not pushed
the issue of monasticism; but the question had been in
their minds.
Just as the theory of celibacy found its chief promoter
in Froude, so does monasticism go back to the same source.
In his letter to Newman, August 31, 1833, he wrote, "It
has lately come into my head that the present state of things
in England makes an opening for reviving the monastic
system. I think of putting the view forward under the
title of A Project for Reviving Religion in Great Towns.
Certainly colleges of unmarried priests (who might of
course retire to a living when they could and liked) would
be the cheapest possible way of providing effectively for
the spiritual wants of a large population. ... I must go
about the country to look for the stray sheep of the true
fold; there are many about, I am sure; only that odious
Protestantism sticks in people's gizzards." ^
Whether Newman was influenced by Froude in his mo-
nastic ideas as in his attitude toward celibacy, it is difficult
1 Wackerbarth, Revival of Monastic Institutions, preface, p. x.
2 Vol. iii, p. 491 ; cf. supra.
^ Probably Newman's, 1835-1836.
* Ancient Christianity, i, 60.
5 Guiney, Hurrcll Froude, p. 122. Cf. Froude, Remains, i, 322.
76 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
to say. In his earlier expressions on the single life, he
did not mention the need of monastic orders. But in
1835 he was as strong for them as was Froude. His ar-
ticle in the British Magazine was the first public utterance
of the Tractarians in behalf of a monastic revival.^ He ad-
mitted the corruption of monasticism, but it was "a corrup-
tion of what is in itself good." The monastic life he re-
garded "as holding a real place in the dispensation of the
gospel, at least providentially." ^ The religious temper of
the times is against monasticism, but in this it is "not like
that of the primitive church." ^ Apart from the Scriptural
basis, there were in Newman's mind three chief reasons
for reviving monasteries. These were: (i) The main-
tenance of truth, as in the primitive time; (2) The pro-
tection against the "Socinianizing of our hierarchy," which
seemed threatened; and (3) The checking of schism by
giving an outlet for devotional spirits.*
After Newman had published this first article, he be-
gan to wonder if he had not gone too far. In July, 1835,
he wrote to Froude :
I have at present some misgivings whether I have not been too
bold in the June Magazine on the subject of Monasticism. . . .
I doubt whether I am not burdening my well-wishers with too
heavy a load when I oblige them to take up and defend these
opinions, too. You see the ground taken, as far as I am con-
cerned, by our fautores in many quarters, is that of my not
being a party man or peculiar in any sense. Now some one
has told me that in defending Monasticism, I have become pe-
culiar. I can but throw myself in answer upon the General
Church, and avow (as I do) that if any one will show me any
opinion of mine which the Primitive Church condemned, I
iVII, 662 et seq. (June, 1835).
■^Ibid., p. 663.
3 Ibid., p. 662.
* Ibid., pp. 663-664.
DEVELOPMENT
77
will renounce it; any which it did not insist on, I will not
insist on it. Yet, after all, I am anxious about it, and shall
draw in my horns.^
Froude, as one might expect, was not so timid. He
saw no cause for worry. He replies: "As to your Mo-
nasticism articles in the British Magazine, my father read
the offensive part in the June one and could see nothing in
it that any reasonable person could object to; and some
persons I know have been struck by them." ^
The desire of Froude and Newman was shared by Pusey.
This new ally, who was to be so active in the monastic revi-
val, was a married man himself. The practical value of re-
ligious communities seemed to strike him before the theo-
retical or spiritual argument for the monastic life. On July
19, 1838, Pusey wrote to Newman : "I hope Wood, etc., are
not aground with their plan for colleges of twelve clergy in
our large towns." ^ That these were to be celibate priests
in Pusey's opinion, is shown in another letter to Newman.
"The more I think of Froude's plan, the more it seems to
me the only one if anything is to be done for our large
towns. I had come to the same conclusion for missionaries
that they ought not to be married men." * The short life
of Froude seems an unimportant incident in the religious
or social history of Fngland; but in the history of the
monastic revival it is then seen to be almost epoch-
making.
Before 1839 the opinions of these three men on monastic-
ism were apparently not shared very generally. Newman's
article in the British Magazine admitted that the temper of
1 Mozley, Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman, ii, 112.
2 Guiney, p. 182.
^Liddon, Life of Pusey, 4 vols. (London, 1893-1898), ii, 37.
^ Ibid., p. 37; cf. "Letter of Newman to Keble," Nov. 21, 1838, in
Mozley, Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman, ii, 268.
78 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the times was against it/ and his letter to Froude reveals
some opposition by his own colleagues.^ A year later the
British Magazine speaks of "the horror with which every-
thing like monastic institutions has been looked upon in this
country since the time of the dissolution." ^ The Magazine
adds: "It is true that, amid the universal clamor, a single
voice has been heard at intervals attempting to show that
such foundations were not an unmixed evil . . . ; but there
is another view of such establishments which the boldest
apologists of the monastic system seem hardly ever to have
entertained ; and that is, the desirableness and practicability
of their restoration, to a limited extent, and in a modified
form, as an appendage to the Church of England." But
much as this Tractarian writer * desires the revival of the
monasteries, he does not hope for more than the vision of
their rise "till loss of property turns the thoughts of the
clergy and others from this world to the next." ^ Another
obstacle was the popular prejudice that monasticism is a
characteristic of Roman Catholicism. The people believe
this because "our generation has not yet learned the distinc-
tion between Popery and Catholicism." *
In the agitation for monasticism proper, as well as for
celibacy, the year 1839 is a turning-point. What had been
more or less secret and anonymous before, now became open
and avowed. To Taylor, with his Ancient Christianity,
it seems should be ascribed the credit for raising celibacy
to a public issue. He had also an important effect on the
discussion of monasticism for he treated these subjects to-
1 VII, 662 (June, 1835) ; cf. Wackerbarth, op. cit., preface, p. x.
2 Cf. supra, p. 76 ; cf. "Letter of Hugh James Rose, Jan., 1838," in
Guiney, Hurrell Froude.
3X, 310 et seq. (1836).
* Probably Newman.
6 British Magazine, ix, 367.
6 Ibid., p. 369.
DEVELOPMENT
79
gether. But to his name should be added another. In the
same year there appeared a book by Francis D. Wacker-
barth, an Anghcan curate. Boldly did it declare its aim in
its title, The Revival of Monastic Institutions} Appar-
ently this work did not attract as wide attention as Ancient
Christianity. Its effect therefore on others is uncertain;
the fact of its publication and the definiteness of its argu-
ment, however, are significant.
The first plea which he makes for the revival of monas-
teries is that they will serve to check the civil power and to
make the church more commensurate with the nation. In
this he has the typical Tractarian fear of the governmental
domination over the church. The causes for that fear he
sees in "the apostate, infidel and blaspheming cabinet, a
population mad for organic change, a popish and infidel ma-
jority in the Commons, a corrupted, profligate and worth-
less literature, rampant fury and shameless demand for un-
limited plunder on the part of the sectaries, and a rebellious
association spreading over the length and breadth of the
land, and apparently in a very close connection with the
government." ^ With such dangers to face, the Church is
generally felt to need something more adequate and aggres-
sive than the parochial system.^ That more effective agency
is to be found in the monastic orders.
A second need of their revival, as he sees it, is to check
schism and heresy. The number of schismatics is appall-
ing.* They are the support of the irreligious government.
^ The Revival of Monastic Institutions, and their bearing upon soci-
ety, considered with reference to the present condition of the Anglican
Church (Colchester, 1839). For information concerning Wackerbarth
cf. Catholic Encyclopedia, vi, 423. He entered the Roman Church in
1841.
2 Ibid., pp. 6-7.
3 Ibid., p. 6.
* Ibid., p. 10.
8o THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Aided by the Tridentine sectaries, they command all the
measures of the Melbourne Cabinet, which is on the verge
of bankruptcy and needs the church property.^ Some of
these who leave the Anglican communion are attracted by
the seeming piety of other sects. "Is it not undeniable that
many more devotional spirits separate from our Communion
and that of the Dissenters to enter such retreats (i. e. monas-
teries), even though belonging to the Tridentine sectaries?
Does not even common prudence teach us that some efifort
is necessary to counteract the working of the Romish monas-
teries?- Therefore the Anglican^ Church must provide
some vent for the devotion of such individuals. This
would be done by the establishment of Anglican monastic
institutions which would give quiet communion, study and
piety.^
The third argument which Wackerbarth gives is the same
as that of Froude and Pusey, viz. monastic orders would
help to evangelize the great cities. Dissent flourishes best
in large towns for three reasons. First, money is more
available there to support the Dissenters' work. Second,
the priests of the Anglican Church are overburdened by the
numbers. In some parishes, as for instance that of Bethnal
Green, there are 30,000 to 70,000 people under one man.
Third, the inhabitants are vitiated by that imperfect kind
of semi-education, which keeps them from knowing their
own ignorance.* This difficult problem of the cities can not
be solved by the church in its present state. "The merciless
plundering of the church which formed the principal feature
and mainspring of the Reformation, left her in possession
of what the most brazen Protestantism will hardly dare to
call more than barely sufficient for the exigencies of that
^Ibid., p. II.
^Ibid., p. 15.
^Ibid., pp. 14-15.
*Ibid., p. 16.
DEVELOPMENT
8i
time." ^ Hence now it is wholly outgrown by the popula-
tion. One remedy often proposed is to divide the parishes.
But the livings are too small to be divided.^ That colleges
of unmarried priests would be of incalculable help, by their
economy of living, in checking the evils of the cities is
shown by the fact that Cathedral towns are better than
others.^
A fourth and very practical argument for monasteries is
that they would be a boon to general education. The prin-
cipal defect of modern education is in the religious and
moral department.* Schools conducted by monastic clergy
of high learning would have religion for their primary ob-
ject.'^ In Wackerbarth's mind the Catholic faith must be
the background for education.". Monastic colleges could
support themselves by charging a moderate tuition.^ How
powerful and efficient they could become can be seen from a
study of Stonyhurst College.** Its progress and growth
have been remarkable even under the austerity and evils of
the Romish system. The dangers of the Roman Catholic
system are due to the Pope's exemption of certain abbeys
from episcopal jurisdiction." This would be avoided in the
1 Ibid., p. 17.
^Ibid., p. 19.
^Ibid., p. 21.
* Ibid., p. 26. This chapter would be of interest to the present advo-
cates of religious education.
5 Ibid., p. 35.
Ibid., p. 24.
^ Ibid., p. 34.
8 P. 27. The reference to Stonyhurst College confirms the thesis
of Chap, ii that the return of the Roman Catholics to England during
and after the French Revolution had a bearing on the Anglican mo-
nastic revival. Significant also is it that Wackerbarth takes his ac-
count of Stonyhurst from the Tractarian organ, The British Critic, xxv,
159-162.
^ Ibid., p. 25.
82
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Anglican scheme, for the bishop's decision over the monas-
teries would be final.^
The fifth reason which the writer gives is practical and
somewhat similar to the one preceding. Monasteries would
be depositories of ecclesiastical learning and the means of
consolidating the teaching efforts of the clergy. The High
Churchism of the author is shown when he says that the
chief function of the Church is not to lead men into the
paths of virtue and religion, nor the dissemination of re-
ligious knowledge, but the preservation of the sacred body
of divine truth.- At present this is not being done. The
parochial clergy have little time for study and theology.*
In seeking popularity they often forget authority and there-
fore lead to schism.* Of this there is little hope of check
by the bishops for they are appointed by the Government
and therefore divided.^ The remedy lies in the revival of
monasteries and the multiplication of cathedral bodies.
These would moderate, control, and unite the parochial
ministry. They would have a beneficial effect on their
taste and thinking by affording the parochial clergy places
for retreat and study. ^
Wackerbarth mentions other lesser advantages of monas-
teries, such as their beneficial effect on church music by their
choral services.' But he shows his fundamental interest
throughout to be the checking of the civil power. For this
it is necessary that the clergj^ should be better known and
loved. Monasteries would contribute to this in the poorer
districts by giving the clergy more time to know their
people ; and in the richer sections, by their influence on learn-
ing and the mingling of the clergy in society.* Having
^Ibid., p. 24. ^ Ibid., p. 42.
2 Ibid., p. 36. ^ Ibid., pp. 42-43-
3 Ibid., p. 39. T Ibid., p. 52.
*Ibid.. p. 41- ^Ibid., p. 47-
DEVELOPMENT
83
thus won the people, the Church might obtain a permanent
influence on both Houses of ParHament, revive convoca-
tions and put a partial stop to the continual system of
plundering church possessions.^
The exact relation of Wackerbarth to the Tractarians is
not known. His preface indicates that he had little ac-
quaintance with them,^ but his fear of the government and
his desire to check it are seen to be identical with theirs.
Thus this comparatively obscure writer voiced openly and
specifically that which they had discussed more or less in
private. From this time on, the subject of monastic re-
vival becomes an open one. It should be noted that this
outspoken advocate of the religious life does not stand for
irrevocable vows. "I do not mean," he says, "that they
(the monks) should be bound by any indissoluble vow of
celibacy, but simply that as long as they continued in the
society they should remain single." ^ It should also be ob-
served that his arguments are practically all utilitarian in
nature. Now that the ice is broken in this rather safe
manner, it will be interesting to watch the development in
argument and theory concerning monasteries.
SEC. III. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MONASTIC IDEALS 1 839-45
It was natural that the argument of practical utility
should be the first one stressed by the advocates of monastic
orders. Such a plea is always good to catch the public
ear. Especially appropriate was it at this time for the
Church conditions were arousing considerable attention.
The Churchman in 1840, reviewing a speech on "How are
the spiritual wants of our overgrown and ever increasing
1 Ibid., p. 47.
2 P. X.
^ Ibid., p. 20.
84
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
population to be supplied?" ^ characterized it as an eloquent
address on one of the most important themes of the time.
It gives us great pleasure to observe the deep interest which
this subject is exciting in all parts of the country." ^ It
was seen that the church had not kept pace with the grow-
ing and changing population. More and better disciplined
clergy were needed.' There was no depreciation of the
parochial system; "but to it in large overgrown towns, we
would add a Monastic, Institute." * As early as 1839 the
British Critic said : "We envy the lot of him who may
have boldness to make trial of associating a number of
young men as a collegiate body, for the cheaper supply of
an efficient ministry to operate on these dense and dark
masses of sin and ignorance, to live with him, not tied by
vows, but purposing in their hearts by God's grace, not to
entangle themselves in the affairs of this life, that they may
the more devote themselves to this great work." ^
Of the utilitarian arguments this one of social service
seems to have been the chief. Great pains were taken to
^Speech by the Rev. Thomas Page (London, Seeley).
2 P. 102. Further evidences of this interest are seen in: Report of
the Speeches delivered at a Public meeting of the friends of the Estab-
lished Church. Extracted from the Newcastle Journal, Feb. 22, 1834
(Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1834).
Molesworth, Letter to Lord Bishop of Chester (London, 1841).
The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, by Anglo-Catholicus
(London, 1843).
Letters to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, by a Parishioner
(1843).
The Real Causes of Papal Aggression (London, 1851).
Hook, Letter to the Lord Bishop of St. David's (London, 1846).
Sumner, A Charge to the Clergy of Winchester (London, 1850).
Sandford, The Mission and Extension of the Church at Home (Lon-
don, 1862).
^ Real Causes of Papal Aggression, p. 9.
*The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, p. 5.
^British Critic, xxvi, 457 (Oct., 1839).
DEVELOPMENT
85
show that the monastic life is not destructive and unsocial,
but practical and constructive.^ Its hospitals, orphanages
and schools were cited. Monasticism gives definite specific
objects of charitable activity." The nuns are not more se-
cluded than other single women ; ^ and instead of the re-
ligious life's making women idle, it gives them dignity and
usefulness.* To the value of the active life the monastic
system adds the great principle of association which has
been so effective in the Christian church.'^ The dire need
of some remedy for the spiritual destitution of the manu-
facturing population is shown by "the practical protest of
Chartism, Infidelity, Dissent and Socialism." " It was a
strong argument for monasteries that they would help to
restore the unbelieving masses of the city to the bosom of
the Church.
Other arguments of practical utility were cited. Pusey
thought monks would be valuable collators of manuscripts,
as in S. Jerome's time.'^ The poor clergy, who individually
can not afford libraries, would have access to good ones in
the very houses they inhabit.* The study of ecclesiastical
law, which is greatly needed, would be encouraged." The
monastic choral services, of which Wackerbarth, had spoken
were again praised.^" In short, it was the active practical
Ibid., xxxi, 397-3Q8 (Apr., 1842).
2 Ibid., p. 399.
3 Ibid., p. 396.
* Ibid., p. 398; cf. The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, pp. 27
et seq.
5 Ibid., pp. 372-373-
« The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, p. 3. Cf. Faulkner,
Chartism and the Churches (New York, 1916).
^ Letter of Pusey to J. R. Hope-Scott, June 13, 1841, in Ormsby,
Memoirs of J. R. Hope-Scott, 2 vols. (London, 1884), i, 264.
* The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, p. 9.
9 British Critic, xxxiii, 406 (April, 1843).
10 Ibid., p. 395.
86
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
side of the religious life which was first emphasized, and
very wisely so.
But into this view of the social value of monasteries,
there was creeping the ascetic element. The British Critic
conceived of monasticism as produced by a concurrence of
the principles of aggregation and asceticism. The first
goes back to apostolic times. Therefore monasticism is
apostolical in its essence.^ W. G. Ward, one of the most
advanced of the High Churchmen, started with the social
need of remedying the conditions of the poor, but found
the model in the Roman Catholic Church. It is the
Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola which in Ward's
opinion forms the basis and furnishes the required self-
discipline.^ In him we find the mingling of the social and
the ascetic elements. Ward also advanced to the point of
advocating vows of celibacy.^ He did not stand alone in
modelling his scheme after the Roman Catholic orders.
If any one has thought that the return of the Romanist
monasteries had no effect on the Anglican revival, let him
read the words of another advocate. "In the heart of Eng-
land, amidst the din of manufacture, in the very head-
quarters of Chartism, within sight of democratic Lough-
borough, are the gentle Cistercians of Mount Mellorie do-
ing much to reclaim the savage hearts of men, from the
Infidelity, the Socialism, the Chartism, into which the in-
1 XXXIII, 390 (Apr., 1844) ; cf. Taylor, Ancient Christianity. This
does not mean, however, that the religious life necessarily involves
irrevocable vows and perpetual celibacy, "which are matters extrinsic
and purely accidental to the subject whereof we are treating, and
which would be required to be treated of at greater length." British
Critic, xxxiii, 390 (Apr., 1843).
2 Ward, The Ideal of a Christian Church, 2nd ed. (London, 1844),
p. 80 et seq.
3 Ibid., p. 413.
DEVELOPMENT
87
efficiency of our parochial system had, if not plunged, at
least sufYered them to fall/
That the advocates of monasticism were tending more
and more toward Romish practices is quite clear. William
Palmer, one of the prime movers of the Oxford Move-
ment,^ wrote in 1843 that the authors of the Tracts had
been opposed to the Roman customs, but that "within the
last two or three years, however, a new school has made
its appearance." ^ "Invocation of saints is sanctioned in
some quarters; . . . celibacy of the clergy and auricular
confession are acknowledged to be' obligatory. Besides
this, intimacies are formed with Romanists, and visits are
paid to Romish monasteries, colleges and houses of wor-
ship." * Of this new school the British Critic was the chief
organ.^
This magazine, as has been seen, emphasized the social
value of the active monastic orders; but it did not conceal
its admiration for the contemplative life. "Let this be well
considered; let it be observed whether those who are so
loud in their protests on the uselessness of a life of seclu-
sion, believe in any true sense the efficacy of intercessory
prayer. . . . Have there ever been times of zealous self-
devotion in the cause of benevolence and humanity which
have not been also times of retirement and contemplation." *
It believes the contemplative Catholic has done more for
charity than the active Protestant. This is shown in the
Sisters of Charity, for instance.^ The danger to the
1 The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, p. 26.
2 Overton, The Anglican Revival (London, 1897), p. 112.
3 Palmer, A Narrative of Events, p. 52.
* Ibid., p. 53.
5 Ibid., p. 55.
^British Critic, xxx, 317 (Oct., 1841).
' Ibid.,
88
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Church at present is not so much from coldness as from ill-
directed warmth. The Church is awake but it is feared
that many of her best children are driven into extravagance
and even into schism because their religious warmth is un-
controlled.^ Such enthusiasts need a school of Christian
penitence and that is furnished by the contemplative life of
the monasteries.^ It adds : "Of what use are the con-
templative orders? If persons understood well the mean-
ing of the Communion of Saints, they would not make
the inquiry. The weapons of the Church are fasts and
prayers; but the world has encroached upon her. ... It
is well then that some should pray while others are fight-
ing." ^ The Critic recognizes that the majority of Eng-
lishmen are opposed to the contemplative life.* There-
fore "until it shall please God to enable the Church to
make use of this great engine we must all wait in patience,
and keep fast and festival at home. In the meantime it
may be useful to point out the virtues of the monastic state,
for they are in reality those of all Christians, carried to
a very high degree." ^ Consequently the writer proceeds
to extol the virtues of the Abbess of Port Royal and her
nuns, who observed strict vows and were very ascetic. All
these characteristics were praised.^ Thus the extreme
High Churchmen, represented by the British Critic ^ have
1 Ibid., p. 367-
Ibid., xxxi, 400-401 (1842).
^ Ibid., p. 367; cf. xxxiv, 39 (July, 1843).
*Ibid., p. 316.
6 Ibid., p. 368.
8 Would not the following definition sound appropriate in a Roman
Catholic publication: "A monastery is a light set upon a hill, ever
burning to remind Christians that they are not to be merely honest
and quiet members of society, but that they are called upon to live a
supernatural life, with bodies mortified and souls ever turned to
praise" {British Critic, xxx, 367) ?
T Thomas Mozley had succeeded Newman as editor in 1841. His
DEVELOPMENT
89
advanced to the purely Roman monasticism. How far
they are beyond Southey ! How far beyond even Froude,
who wanted no irrevocable vows ! Palmer attributed their
Romish position to their "doctrine of development," which
makes all mediaeval Christianity necessary.^ This doctrine,
he thought, was derived from de Maistre and Mohler.^
The position of this extreme wing is interesting, but
there were two men whose attitudes are of more impor-
tance. These men were Newman and Pusey. Upon their
leadership depended the fruition of the schemes. Palmer,
one of Newman's colleagues said that the British Critic
had made its dangerous advances toward Romish practices
since passing from Newman's editorship in 1841.^ What
then was Newman's position? The reasons which New-
man gave for desiring some sort of monastic institutions
in the Anglican Church have been shown.* The question
now is, what sort of institutions he desired. A letter back
in 1839 shows that he was already looking at Roman in-
stitutions favorably, apparently from an aesthetic view-
point. "I think," he said, "that whenever the time comes
that secession to Rome takes place, for which we must not
be unprepared, we must boldly say to the Protestant sec-
tion of our church — 'you are the cause of this; you must
concede; . . . you must make the church . . . more equal
to the external. Give us more services, more vestments
and decorations in worship; give us monasteries. . . . Till
chief writers were Ward, Oakeley, Rogers, John Christie, James Moz-
ley, Bawyer, Church, J. B. Morris, and others. Mozley, Reminiscences
chiefly of Oriel College and the Oxford Movement. 2nd ed. (1882), ii,
217-219.
^ Palmer, A Narrative of Events, p. 68.
2 Ibid., p. 57. Note the connection with the Continental Catholic
movements.
3 Palmer, A Narrative of Events, p. 75.
* Vide supra, p. 76. Cf. British Magazine, vii, 662 et seq.
90
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
then you will have continual secessions to Rome.' " ^ He
seemed constantly looking at Rome and trying to devise
means of keeping men from that communion. The only
remedy he could believe effective was to copy their institu-
tions, as e.g. monasteries, which I used to say belonged to
us as much as to Rome,^ "I am almost in despair of keep-
ing men together," he wrote in 1842. "The only possible
way is a monastery. Men want an outlet for their devo-
tional and penitential feelings, and if we do not grant it,
to a dead certainty they will go where they can find it." *
In a later chapter it will be seen that Newman set up a
"monastery" at Littlemore, which may seem very unlike
the Roman institutions. That this, however, did not
represent the perfected idea of Newman but only the foun-
dation is shown by this same letter: "Yet the clamor is
so great and will be so much greater, that, if I persist, I
expect (though I am not speaking from anything that has
occurred) that I shall be stopped. Not that I have any
intention of doing more at present than laying the founda-
tion of what may be." * The praise which is bestowed upon
the old monastic orders in the Lives of the Saints
strengthens the theory that Newman desired the mediaeval
kind.=
In 1838 Pusey had confided to Newman his desire for
^ Purcell, Life of Cardinal Manning, 2 vols. (London, 1895), i, 233.
Apologia pro sua Vita (ed. 1897), p. 166.
3 Letter to J. R. Hope-Scott, Jan. 3, 1842, in Ormsby, Memoirs of
J. R. Hope-Scott, ii, 6.
* Ibid.
5 "Monastic Orders are the very life's blood of a Church, monuments
of true apostolic Christianity, refuges of spirituality in the worst times,
the nurseries of heroic bishops, the mothers of rough-handed and
great-hearted missionaries. A church without monasteries is a body
with its right arm paralyzed." Life of S. Wilfrid, pp. 62-63 ; quoted in
the British Magazine, Jan., 1845, p. 12. Cf. Letter of Newman to J. R.
Hope-Scott, Nov. 6, 1843, Ormsby, op. cit., ii, 27.
DEVELOPMENT
91
colleges of celibate priests in the large cities. In those
earlier days he seemed to have been a more or less theo-
retical follower of Newman and Froude in this matter.
Even in 1840 he still looked to Newman as the leader. In
reply to a letter from the latter, he said: "Certainly it
would be a great relief to have a 'ixovq in our Church in
many ways, and you seem just the person to form one. . . .
I hardly look to be able to avail myself of the V*"^' since
I must be so busy when here on account of my necessary
absences to see my children, unless indeed I should live
long enough to be ejected from my Canonry, as of course,
one must contemplate as likely if one does live, and then
it would be happy retreat." ^ After his wife's death in
1839, Pusey gave more thought to the subject of monas-
teries.^ His position in 1841 he declared quite explicitly:
"As to monasticism I do not go further than Archbishop
Leighton, in what he says about 'Retreats for men of
mortified tempers,' which he regrets were lost at the Refor-
mation. I have long strongly thought that we needed
something of this sort ; it is not Romanish, but primitive —
B. Harrison, as well as others, think co-eval with Chris-
tianity; all minds are not formed in the same way nor
need the same course of training. I think it would be a
great blessing to our Church to have some such institu-
tions, but this is no new view with me. . . . My visits to
the convents at Dublin have not changed my views, except
so far that I should not think now of any formal institu-
tion, but wish people quietly to form themselves." ^
How Pusey went about the process of having people
"quietly form themselves" into the religious life will be
seen in the next chapter. But in the meantime it is inter-
1 Liddon, Life of Pusey, ii, 137.
2 Cf. infra.
3 Liddon, op. cit., ii, 271.
92
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
esting to note his progress toward Romish customs and
asceticism. This progress is shown in the following letter :
"I have two or three commissions for you. ... It is for
my little library of Roman Catholic works. . . . The gen-
eral class is, as you know ascetic books, books of guidance,
which shall give people knowledge of self, enable us to
guide consciences. ... I should be glad of any informa-
tion on a subject which I know drew your thoughts when
you were last abroad — the system as to retreats. . . .
Perhaps also Dr. Dollinger could give you some informa-
tion as to S. Ignatius Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia." ^
Pusey also desired to know about the Roman forms of
penance and their use of the "Discipline," an instrument
of "five cords each with five knots in memory of the
wounds of our Lord." ^ He writes to Keble two years
later that he is resuming "Hair Cloth" and is anxious to
use the "Discipline" every night with Psalm 51.^ Pusey's
approximation to Roman Catholicism in his ideas of devo-
tion and practices is seen also from the titles of his Catholic
Devotional Library.'^
The British Critic, Newman and Pusey may be said to
represent fairly the advanced Tractarianism of this period.
Hence it is seen that this party desired the revival of
monasteries very similar to, if not identical with, the old
Roman institutions. But they recognized that the way was
not yet open. This need of patient preparation is
voiced by John Mason Neale, a name to be heard frequently
in later days. "Lest such an intention should appear pre-
1 Letter of Pusey to J. R. Hope-Scott, Sept. 9, 1844. Ormsby, op.
cit., ii, SI.
2 Ibid., pp. 52-53.
3 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 99-108. Keble advised moderation in Pusey's
ascetic habits.
* Browne, Annals of the Tractarian Movement (Dublin, 1856), 3rd ed.
1861, p. 64.
DEVELOPMENT
93
sumptuous, Mr. Neale expressly lays down as a sort of
necessary condition before anything is done, that the gen-
eral feelings of churchmen and the approbation of our
ecclesiastical rulers shall have prepared the way for it." ^
How difficult that preparation will be remains now to be
seen.^
SEC. IV. THE GENERAL INTEREST OF OTHER PARTIES IN THE
MONASTIC REVIVAL
The British Critic, the organ of the advanced Tractarians,
was succeeded in 1844 by the English Review. The tone
of the new paper on the subject of monasteries was de-
cidedly different. It admits that England is more familiar
with the corruption of these institutions than with their
excellence.^ Therefore it does not recommend their re-
vival.* However, it sees the social and religious needs
which should be met and praises the educational work of
the "Brothers of Christian Doctrine" in Paris.^ It be-
lieves an effort should be made to accomplish similar ob-
jects in a manner different from the purely monastic and
thus check the flood of the most ardent spirits to Rome.
One effective means, as recommended by Wm. Sewell ® and
approved by the Review, would be an association of self-
sacrificing men placed at the disposal of the bishop for the
^British Critic, xxxiv, 523 (Oct., 1843).
2 In addition to the arguments used, as cited above, the advocates of
monasticism sought to break down the English prejudice against an
institution so Roman in appearance by appealing to the authority of
the seventeenth century divines and antiquaries. Latimer, Bramhall,
Thorndike, Tanner, Leighton, Fuller, Twysden, Spelman, Dugdale and
Camden were all cited. Cf. British Critic, xxxii, 363 et seq. (Oct.,
1842), and Anglo-Catholicus, The Monastic and Manufacturing Sys-
tems, p. 13 et seq.
^English Review, i, 413-414.
*Cf. ii, 445 (Dec, 1844).
5 Ibid.
^Christian Politics (London, 1844).
94
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
purpose of teaching the poor. They should have simple
rules and dress and live in community life, but should not
be a monastic order. Monasticism, Sewell said, was guilty
of sins which in such a system find no place, as for instance
withdrawal from episcopal control, abstract retirement,
fanatical devotion, self-sacrifice become pride, selfish ac-
cumulation of wealth, political power, attachment to foreign
influence, and enslavement by vows.^ The English Review
comments : "We are sure that every enlightened church-
man would hail the institution of societies such as Mr.
Sewell describes, purified from the various evils of the
monastic system; but it is evident that under existing cir-
cumstances, they will not be very easily called into exis-
tence." ^
In attempting to get the social effects without the mo-
nastic orders, this magazine makes a distinction between
monasticism and the conventual system. The essence of
the former is not celibacy, nor poverty, nor obedience, but
according to St. Jerome it is solitude.* Therefore monas-
ticism is not consistent with social work.* Its intention
was frustrated by the conventual system and it is, there-
fore, self-destructive.^ But the practical objects to be at-
tained by monasteries, which are the education of the poor,
distribution of alms, conversion of paganized millions, of-
fering of asylums to learning, religion, widowhood and
virginity, can be met by the apostolic orders of deacons
and deaconesses.^ These have been revived in Bavaria and
among French Protestants.^
1 Ibid, pp. 395-396.
77 (Oct., 1844).
3 ii, 429 (Dec, 1844).
* Ibid., p. 432.
Ibid., p. 434.
^ Ibid., pp. 448-449.
''Ibid., p. 450.
DEVELOPMENT
95
This attitude of recognizing needs and ofifering semi-
monastic remedies was held in other quarters.^ More open
expression, however, was given in opposition to the whole
monastic principle." The general opinion of these oppo-
nents was that monasteries by their very nature tended to
corruption. How widespread was the opposition to, or
the support of, the monastic idea, it is difficult to say. A
friend of the monasteries gives a glimpse. "Among the
i£. g., "F. K." in British Magazine, xi, 163-165 (1837).
"G. H. T." in the Guardian, i, 569 (Nov. 18, 1846), proposed a soci-
ety of religious persons called the "Fraternity of Holy Learning" or
(like the similar French institution) the "Brethren of Christian
Schools." There should be a solemn promise of devotion and obedi-
ence while within the pale, but no vows of perpetual celibacy. "Celi-
bacy might be one of the requirements. Without this it is difficult to
conceive an entire submission or a perfect state of discipline." The
superiors should be the bishops, and the brothers, in part priests but
chiefly deacons.
Dr. Thomas Arnold in Christian Life, Its Course, Its Hindrances, and
Its Helps (London, 1845), Introduction, p. 56, said: "No wise man
doubts that the Reformation was imperfect, or that in the Romish
system there were many good institutions and practices and feelings
which it would be most desirable to restore among ourselves. Daily
church services, frequent communions ; . . . religious orders, espe-
cially of women, of different kinds and under different rules, delivered
only from the snare and sin of perpetual vows; all these . . . would
be purely beneficial."
2£. g., The Churchman, n, 42-43 (1836) ; iii, 140 (1837).
The Church of England Magazine, xiii, 136 (1842) ; and xvi, 360
(1844).
The Church and State Gazette, ii, 507.
The Times — as quoted in The Guardian, i, 516-517 (Dec. 9, 1846).
The Edinburgh Review, Ixxxii, 130 (July, 1845) ; Ixxxiii, 83 (Jan.,
1846) ; cxiv, 319 (Oct., 1861).
Also some High Churchmen expressed themselves very emphatically
in opposition : e. g., Palmer, A Narrative of Events connected with the
Publication of the Tracts for the Times (Oxford, 1843), p. 80.
Cf. Liddon, Life of Pusey, ii, 269, Letter of Rev. E. Churton to his
friend Pusey.
Another anti-monastic writer and speaker was Michael H. Seymour,
author of "A Pilgrimage to Rome, 1848.
96
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
changes which the last five years have wrought in pubHc
opinion, none is more remarkable than the alteration of its
tone with respect to Religious Houses, and their suppres-
sion in the sixteenth century. The lighter literature, that
weathercock which veers with every change of popular
breath, amply proves the fact. . . . Now the suppression
is lamented as an irreparable blow to literature, or an irre-
vocable loss to the poor." ^
However reliable this statement may be as to the opposi-
tion or support, it is more important to know how great
was the interest in the subject. There are many evidences
of its considerable extent in the period from 1840 to 1845.
The "lighter literature" just mentioned is a pretty good
indication of popularity. A number of novels appeared
about this time with plots turning on monastic events.^
If historical works can be cited as indicating a popular
interest, there are several to be noted.^ Another evidence
1 Introduction to the edition of Spelman, The History and Fate of
Sacrilege, published in 1846, p. 11.
2 Sherwood, Mrs. (the author of The Nun), The Monk of Cimies
(London, 1837). It shows a boy reared in a High Church home, who
became a Roman CathoHc monk, and later turned to Evangelicalism.
It gained sufficient popularity to be reviewed by the British Critic, July,
1837.
Geraldine. A novel centered around conventual life. It reached its
third edition by 1841. Cf. British Critic, xxix, 491 (April, 1841).
Neale, Ayton Priory: or The Restored Monastery (London, 1843).
3£. g.. Chronicle of Jocelyn of Brakelond (published by the Camden
Society, 1840). This was popularized by Carlyle in his Fast and Pres-
ent.
Wright, Three Chapters of Letters on the Suppression of Monas-
teries (published by the Camden Society, 1843).
Digby, Mores Catholici. Volume x is devoted to monasteries. This
is praised by British Critic, xxxiii, 367 and 410 (April, 1843).
Fox, Monks and Monasteries, 1845. Under the guise of history, it is
really an argument for the revival of monasteries. It aims to show the
error by which obloquy has fallen upon these institutions.
DEVELOPMENT
97
of interest in this subject is the space given by the periodi-
cals. Citations from these have been made. Enlighten-
ing also is the statement of a paper hostile to monasteries.
"We propose to devote a series of papers to the investiga-
tion and illustration of the Monastic Institution that existed
in England ; the subject, we think, will be an acceptable one
to the readers of the Churchman." ^
But there was one man of outstanding prominence who
did much to popularize the subject of monastic life. This
was Thomas Carlyle. It is interesting to note the opinion
of a modern Anglican monastic journal as to Carlyle's in-
fluence :
There must be very many whose sympathy with the Monastic
life was first aroused by the picture of it which is presented
in the second part of Thomas Carlyle's Past and Present. The
curious chance which put into Carlyle's hands the Camden So-
ciety's edition of the original text of Jocelyn's Chronicle, and
which led him to see in the person of the Abbot Samson a
character from whom the nineteenth century Englishman
might learn not a little, has had some effects of which he never
dreamed. But so it is. Past and Present gave to the general
reader in 1843 a picture of the inner life of a community of
the twelfth century, which had hitherto been known only to
the antiquary.^
Carlyle praised the usefulness of the active monastic life.
He testified to the popularity of the subject when he said :
"We have heard so much of monks, everywhere in real
and fictitious history." ^ But he did not believe the old
For other books see those reviewed in English Review, ii, 424 (Dec,
1844)-
1 The Churchman, 1841, pp. 52-53.
2 Day, E. Hermitage, in Pax, Dec, 1908, p. 126.
3 Past and Present, bk. ii, ch. i, p. 44. In Carlyle's Complete Works,
University ed., vol. iv.
98
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
monastic orders could be revived. "No monk of the old
sort is any longer possible in this world," he said/
Perhaps the best statement of the popular interest in
monasteries is to be found in that mouth-piece of the
moderate High Churchman, the English Review.^ It tells
how many circumstances have wrought gradually on cer-
tain minds until it seems in some quarters that there
would be little difficulty in restoring the old exact monastic
forms. Among these circumstances it mentions the fol-
lowing : ( I ) The tendency of the age to shake off prin-
ciples and prejudices alike; (2) Reaction against narrow
and unjust views of the monastic system; (3) Thirst for
something beyond the self-indulgent religion of the day;
(4) The natural tendency of the human heart toward modes
of religion which are not prescribed in Scripture, but which
exceed its requirements ; ( 5 ) Attractiveness to the imagina-
tion of systems surrounded by the solemn associations of
sanctity, and lofty endurance, and silence, mystery and hoar
antiquity; (6) The romance which breathes throughout the
monastic system; (7) Its' aestheticism ; (8) The very re-
mains more beautiful in decay than in their perfection,
which tell of sacred and holy things brought down to the
dust without compunction or mercy. So rapidly have these
influences broken down the old opposition to monasticism,
the Review thinks the present generation may see the friars
and the great monasteries restored.^ But powerful as are
these appeals for the old monastic forms, far more peo-
ple want "reformed monasteries, the members of which
shall not be bound by vows of celibacy, or of perpetual
continuance in the monastic state." Their chief function
would be the evangelization of the large cities.*
It is interesting to note also the varied appeal which
^Ibid. ^Ibid.
424 (Dec, 1844). * Ibid., p. 425.
DEVELOPMENT
99
conventual institutions made to individuals. "To some
they present themselves as retreats from the cares and
anxieties of life — to others, as affording opportunity for
penitence and mortification, — to others, as the habitations
of learning and intellectual enjoyment, — to others, as the
pathway to heroic and saintly acts of piety and devotion, —
to others, as the most effectual mode of evangelizing the
heathen, gathering the outcasts into the fold of the Church,
instructing the young in the truths of religion, and dis-
tributing to the necessities of those in affliction and
sickness." ^
Having seen this wide interest and varied appeal, one
is prepared now to hear of the actual attempts. He is
not surprised to read : "Already we have had definite plans
for the revival of monasteries . . . ; and we have even
heard occasional reports of negotiations for the purchase
of sites for the intended institutions." ^
SEC. V. DEFINITE PLANS FOR REVIVAL
In planning to revive monastic institutions, there was
some question as to their legality. The Disabilities Act
(lo Geo. IV, c. 7) had prohibited Roman Catholic religious
orders bound by vows, except the orders of women.*
This Act of course said nothing about monastic orders in
the English Church for such were not seriously contem-
plated at that time. Hence the English Review was cor-
rect in saying: "There is no legal impediment, and no
actual prohibition by the Canons of the Church." * There
was one law, however, whose repeal or modification was
regarded as desirable, namely, the Mortmain Act of 1736.
Its repeal would open the way for private charity, which
built the monasteries and cathedrals of the past and, as
1 Jbid., p. 428.
2 Ihid., p. 428.
3 Cf. The Bulwark, i, 149.
448 (Dec, 1844).
lOO
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
was believed, would gladly do so again.^ To this end the
advocates of monasticism desired that petitions from clergy
and laity be sent to Parliament.^ In addition to the re-
peal of this law, it was desired to provide for the revival
of Convocation.^
Even this legislation was not deemed essential by all.
Newman was aware how the Rosminian nuns (Roman
Catholic) were evading the Mortmain Act by vesting the
property legally in the name of a member, while really it
was at the disposal of the General.* Therefore, even un-
der existing legal and social conditions monasteries were
entirely feasible. They could be established with very little
trouble or expense; and if they would engage in manu-
factures, a body of 20 or 30 monks could not only main-
tain itself but might distribute alms besides.^ "Indeed,"
said the organ of the moderates, "we have little doubt that
were St. Anthony or St. Bernard to revisit the earth, they
would lose no time in establishing factories of this kind,
in which labor would not be disproportional to strength,
childhood would be instructed, and the means of extensive
almsgiving would be supplied." " This magazine, which
had repudiated the mediaeval monastic system, seemed to
indorse the active practical orders. It admitted, however,
that monasticism never seems to exist for more 'than one
generation in purity.^
Convinced of the legality and feasibility of monasteries,
their advocates lost no time in preparing concrete plans.
^The Monastic and Manufacturing Systems, p. 35.
2 Ibid., p. 35.
3 Ibid., p. 35.
* Pattison, Memoirs (London, 1885), pp. ig2-i93. Diary for Sun-
day, Oct. I, 1843, at Littlemore.
^English Review, ii, 440 (Dec, 1844).
^ Ibid., p. 441.
^ Ibid., p. 441 et seq.
DEVELOPMENT
lOI
"A party following the advice of Lord John Manners,
determined to found a monastery of married and unmar-
ried monks, and selected as their site a small village in
Suffolk; the unmarried Fathers were to take 'Bachelor's'
vows, regarding 'celibacy, as it really is, as a higher state,'
and that 'there are surely duties enough in the church where
celibacy may have its proper place.' " ^ A paper, taken
from the Church Intelligencer was widely circulated among
the Oxford party. Its title gives its purpose : Revival of
Monastic and conventual Institutions on a plan adapted to
the exigencies of the Reformed Catholic Church in Eng-
land.^ The quotations at its beginning are selected from
varied types of writers.^ In its preamble, it says: "It
is a question which must long have presented itself to re-
flecting Christians, 'In what way the general interests of
the Church and the Christian education of her people may
be best promoted; and by what means a remedy may be
best provided for many of the evils — social, domestic, and
personal — arising out of the present disordered state of
our civil and ecclesiastical relations. ?' " * It suggests as
"perhaps the best model for such establishments (mutatis
mutandis) the monastery of Port Royal des Champs as
described by Mrs. Schimmelpeninck, in her edifying
Memoirs of Port Royal." ^
The objects of such a revival the paper states as follows :
"(i) To widen and deepen the legitimate influence of
the Church, by exhibiting a model of her system as fully
carried ouit and reduced to actual practice.
^Browne, Annals of the Tractarian Movement (London, 1861), p.
92.
2 Ibid., p. 93.
3 Vide Appendix, iii.
* Browne, op. cit., pp. 93-94.
' Ibid., p. 94.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
"(2) To promote and conduct Christian education upon
Church principles.
"(3) To afford a retreat for the contemplative, the be-
reaved, the destitute, and the embarrassed.
"(4) To cherish a spirit of devotion, charity, humility,
and obedience.
"(5) To give better opportunities of acquiring self-
knowledge and exercising penitence.
"(6) To promote simplicity and godly sincerity in the
intercourse of life.
"(7) To revive plainness and self-denial in diet, dress,
furniture, etc.
"(8) To form habits of retirement, silence, and recol-
lection." ^
The means by which the above objects are to be attained
are also explicitly stated.
"( I ) A system of community where the superabundance
of the wealthier might be made available to the support
of the poorer members.
"(2) Daily public devotion and frequent communion
agreeably to the order of the Church.
"(3) Strict observance of Festivals, Fasts, etc., pre-
scribed in Book of Common Prayer.
"(4) A Rule for dress, diet, furniture, recreation, etc.
"(5) Appointed time for silence and subjects of medi-
tation.
"(6) Corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
"(7) Exercising penitence and obedience.
"(8) Bodily and mental labor — particularly in educat-
ing the young, composing works to meet the necessities of
the Church, working for the poor, and assisting in the
various duties of the establishment." ^
1 Ibid., p. 94.
^ Ibid., pp. 94-95.
DEVELOPMENT
103
In conclusion it may be well to measure the advance
made. It is easy to see how much more "monastic" were
the theories of the extreme Tractarians, and even these
published plans, than those of Southey, the chief advo-
cate of religious orders before the Oxford Movement. He
had no place for penitence, contemplation, mortification and
the other marks of mediaeval monasticism. He thought
only of the practical social services to be rendered to a
suffering people and the necessarily idle women. In 1844
we have Southey's social arguments retained, but many of
these purely monastic elements added. Moreover, these
conventual communities were advocated not merely for
women, as in Southey's articles, but for both sexes.^ This
introduction of the purely monastic elements and this ex-
tension of application to both men and women were the
contribution of the Oxford party, or rather of the ex-
tremists of that g^oup.
1 Browne, op. cit., pp. 93-94.
CHAPTER V
The Beginning of Sisterhoods
SEC. I. the first steps
The advocates of monasticism among the Oxford School
desired religious orders of both sexes. If a comparison of
emphases were to be made, the arguments of the last chapter
seemed to aim more at monasteries than at nunneries. In
fact the greatest of the Oxford leaders endeavored to
establish a "monastery" as early as 1840.^ Nevertheless
religious orders of women were successfully started almost
two decades before those of men. Why?
The answer to this question will probably become ap-
parent as the account of the Sisterhood work progresses;
but some indications may be given here. First of all, it
should be noted that this movement had a broader basis in
authority than the Brotherhoods. It is commonly credited
to the Oxford School." Some even limit it to Pusey and
his particular followers.^ But there seems more semblance
of truth in the statement that "although usually credited
to the 'Oxford School,' the Sisterhood movement forms
a part of a far wider change affecting the position, in-
iC/. ch. vi.
^Cf. Overton, The Anglican Revival (London, i8g7), p. 219. Kel-
way, The Story of the Catholic Revival (London, 1914). Edinburgh
Review, xcviii, 307 (1853).
3 Cf. Cruttwell, Six Lectures on the Oxford Movement and Its Re-
sults on the Church of England (London, 1899), pp. 134-136. Spencer,
Papal Aggressions Aided and Encouraged by Tractarian Movements.
A Sermon (Devonport, 1850), p. 13.
104
SISTERHOODS
dependence, training and responsibilities of educated Eng-
lish women." ^ That the intimate connection of the Ox-
ford leaders would give rise to the belief that they were
its authors, will be seen later. But this account has shown
the agitation for orders of women before the Tractarian
movement of 1833. It has been seen that such non-Trac-
tarians as Thomas Arnold " and Robert Southey were de-
sirous to have Sisters in the English Church. In later
years friends of Sisterhoods were to appeal to these two
men as their authorities, some without even mentioning
the Oxford School.^ Moreover the first of these institu-
tions was planned as a memorial to Southey. Hence it
seems safe to conclude that Anglican Sisterhoods are in-
debted to the Oxford School for their form, but not for
their original impulse. And it was the fact that they
could appeal to authority wider than the Tractarian move-
ment which helped them to secure a foothold earlier than
the Brotherhoods, whose advocates were more limited.
A second factor which aided the early establishment of
Sisterhoods was the growing interest in woman's social
and industrial position. This interest probably had more
to do with aiding the progress of the movement a decade
after its beginning, but it had already been felt for some
time, especially after the Napoleonic Wars.* Newman, in
his memorable article of 1835, advocated religious orders
of women on the ground that they would "give dignity
and independence to the position of women in society." ^
^ Davidson and Benham, Life of Archibald Campbell Tail, i, 449
(London, 1891).
^ Christian Life; Its Course, Its Hindrances, and Its Helps (Lon-
don, 1845), Introduction, p. 56.
3 Seymour, in his Speech in Convocation, Chronicle of Convocation
(1861-1863), p. 838.
* Vide supra, ch. iii.
^British Magazine, vii, 667 (June, 1835).
Io6 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
He added, "As matters stand marriage is the sole shelter
which a defenceless portion of the community has against
the rude world." ^ And since the women so far outnum-
bered the men in those years, many were thus left with-
out even that questionable shelter. Thus communities for
women could make a wide social, as well as a religious,
appeal. Newman recognized this distinction. "This
treatise," he wrote, " is addressed to women as well as
men; religious sisterhoods being as much demanded in the
model of a perfect church by Christian charity, as monastic
fraternities by zeal." ^ The Oxford School felt the need
of renewed zeal and therefore of Brotherhoods; but the
whole church was beginning to recognize the demands of
charity, and consequently was more receptive to the orders
of women. Moreover this interest was not limited to the
Established Church. Quakers were contemplating an order
of nurses, similar to Sisters of Charity.^ Commissions
were being appointed to investigate the work and position
of women. Female education was a vital problem. Peo-
ple of high rank educated their daughters at home because
they lacked confidence in the available seminaries.* On
these broad social needs therefore, communities of women
were enabled to secure a foundation, while 'the zeal was still
lacking to give permanence to the orders of men.'
With the general preparation traced in the preceding
chapter and these specific factors in addition, the time was
^Ibid., p. 667.
2 British Magazine, vii, 667.
* Liddon, Life of Pusey, iii, 8-9.
* British Magazine, ix, 367 (1836).
^ To these factors should be added a further explanation by Pusey,
writing after thirty years of observation. "For men it is more diffi-
cult, for there are few who have what the Marriage Service calls the
gift of continency." Letter of Pusey, July 13, 1881, in Russell, Dr.
Pusey (London, 1912), p. 105.
SISTERHOODS
107
now ripe for a beginning. Who would take the lead?
Froude had desired orders of men, but he was dead. New-
man had felt the need of Sisterhoods as well as Brother-
hoods, but he was leading a retired life at Littlemore.^ It
remained for Pusey to launch the Sisterhood movement.
Several factors had helped him toward this desire. For
many years his thoughts and charities had been turned to
the condition of the large cities, especially to that of the
East End of London.^ He was convinced of the need of
new social machinery for their amelioration. He was also
influenced by the difficulty of finding suitable employment
for unmarried women, a problem of which he had often
heard.^ Thirdly, his study of the Fathers, as in the case
of Newman and the other Oxford leaders, had shown him
the stress laid by the early church on virginity and reiterated
by the seventeenth century divines.* Moreover causes
nearer home aided in this conviction. Pusey's daughter
Lucy had from very early childhood expressed her desire
to lead the life of a reHgious.° He himself after the death
of his wife in May, 1839 was convinced that Providence
had ordained for him a single life. Hence this husband
and father, who had said nothing openly in the Oxford
School's agitation for celibacy, and had been merely a fol-
lower of Newman and Froude in the early cry for colleges
of celibate priests, now in 1839 began to act independently
in his desire for religious orders of women. On Dec. 18,
1839 he wrote to Keble: "Newman and I have separately
come to think it necessary to have some 'Soeurs de charite'
in the Anglo-Catholic (Church). He is going to have an
article on it in the British Critic. H no one else writes it
he will do it himself. . . . My notion was that it might be-
1 Cf. ch. vi.
2 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 2.
3 Ibid.
* Ibid., pp. 2-4.
^ Ibid., p. 4.
io8
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
gin by regular employment as nurses in hospitals and lunatic
asylums, in which last Christian nursing is so sadly
missed." ^
Pusey soon outstripped Newman in this movement, as
a letter of the latter indicates : "Pusey is at present very
eager about setting up Sisters of Mercy. I feel sure that
such institutions are the only means of saving some of our
best members from turning Roman Catholics; and yet I
despair of such societies being made externally. They must
be the expression of an inward principle. All one can do
is to offer the opportunity. I am sceptical, too, whether
they can be set up without a quasi-vow." ^ Newman's de-
sire seemed more or less passive. He recognized the needs,
but he was willing to wait. This is shown by the follow-
ing letter : "There are doubtless many women who waste
their lives as things are, whose calling and happiness would
seem to be in uniting in a religious society, supposing they
had a rule sufficiently authoritative to overcome dif¥erences
of tastes and tempers." ^ He asked his correspondent to
cherish the wish for such a life and to pray for it, if it be
at present impracticable. Newman wanted the matter
thoroughly discussed and the cost counted before the at-
tempt was made. "What you hear about a convent is a
mere mistake. I know nothing of it. But I am very glad
to heari that such ideas are spreading, and talking is the first
step to doing. Several plans are in agitation for establish-
ing Sisters of Mercy, whether for hospitals or for parochial
visiting; but I expect nothing of them yet. It is a great
thing if persons communicate to each other their ideas and
wishes. No one can begin solitarily, but the feeling that
^Ibid., p. s.
2 Mozley, Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman, ii. 298-299.
Letter of Newman to J. W. Bowden, Feb. 21, 1840.
3 Letter to ZYX, a lady, Mar. 29, 1840, ibid., p. 307.
SISTERHOODS
109
there are others like-minded gives at once confidence and
opportunity. ... A very strong reHgious principle and a
tight discipline would be necessary. But it is a very good
thing for people to be thinking about. Nothing would need
more counting the cost." ^
While Newman was thinking over the advantages of con-
ventual life but doing nothing to launch it, Pusey was busy
getting suggestions and laying plans. He met with a
favorable response from many. In 1839, he wrote: "I
have named it since to very dififerent sorts of persons, and
all are taken with it exceedingly, (except B. Harrison, who,
as Archbishop's chaplain, is half afraid of it, and think
that there would be numbers of people who are yearning
to be employed that way." ^ One of these correspondents
was W. Perceval Ward, Rector of Compton Valence. He
had resided much abroad and had been interested in the
Sisterhood of St. Vincent de Paul, as well as other types
of community life on the continent. Ward urged the ne-
cessity of some such associations in order to save the popu-
lation of the cities from Romanism or irreligion.^
Another friend to whom Pusey wrote was Dr. W. F.
Hook, Vicar of Leeds. Pusey stated that he desired such
sisterhoods " ( i ) as in themselves belonging to and foster-
ing a high tone in the Church; (2) as giving a holy em-
ployment to many who yearn for something; (3) as di-
recting zeal which will otherwise go off in some irregular
way, or go over to Rome." * He then makes a specific
request : "Do you know of any who would engage in
^ Ibid., pp. 31S-316. Letter to Miss Giberne, Nov. 4, 1840. Newman
tried to point out the difficulties of conventual life to a lady who was
contemplating entrance into a Roman Catholic order. Ibid., p. 348.
2 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 5.
^ Ibid., pp. 5-6; cf. letter.
* Ibid., p. 6. Letter of Dec, 1839.
no
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
it on a small scale, quietly, or one who would be a Mother
Superior, i.e., one fitted to guide it?" ^ Hook's warning
shows the spirit of the time :
I perfectly agree with you in thinking it to be most important
to have a class of persons acting under us and answering to
the Sisters of Charity in some foreign churches. But there
will be great difficulties in the way. Although we shall obtain
the cooperation of the really pious of all classes ultimately,
there will be much opposition from those "Evangelical" ladies
who at present control the visiting societies. ... I am always
an advocate for exhibiting works before principles. . . .
What I should like to have done is this : for you to train an
elderly matron, and for her to come here and take lodgings
with two or three other females. Let their object be known
to none but myself. . . . We should attend to their principles,
but draw up no rules, except such as might be absolutely neces-
sary for the guidance of the household, and there should be
no distinction of dress. . . . Let this go on for twelve months
at least. We could then have a meeting of our friends pre-
pared to support this establishment.^
At this same time Pusey was corresponding with Mr.
W. Greenhill, who was studying medicine in Paris. Green-
hill undertook to obtain for him the rules of the Sisters
of the Order of St. Augustine, and also those of St. Vin-
cent de Paul.*
In the midst of this discussion and study, a very definite
step was taken toward the actual beginning of a Sister-
hood. On June 5, 1841, Pusey wrote to Newman: "A
young lady, who is very grateful to your teaching, is pur-
posing to-day to take a vow of holy celibacy. She has
difficulties and anxieties in her position. She has attended
1 Ibid.
2 Ibid., p. 7. Letter of June 9, 1840.
3 Ibid., pp. 7-8.
SISTERHOODS 1 1 1
St. Mary's since she has been in Oxford, and hopes to
receive the Holy Communion there to-day as part of her
self-devotion. It was wished that you should know it and
remember her. You will know her by her being dressed
in white with an ivory cross." ^ The lady referred to in
this letter was Miss Marian Hughes.^
Shortly after her self-dedication Miss Hughes went to
Normandy with the Rev. and Mrs. Seager, in order to
study so far as possible the orders of women in France.
They visited at Bayeux a community of White Augustines
or Ursulines. At Caen they studied a convent under the
Rule of St. Francis de Sales. This latter especially pleased
Pusey and "in the regulations of the first English com-
munity of Sisters it is not difficult to trace the influence of
the information thus conveyed." * In the same year Pusey
himself visited Ireland in order to study the working of
the Roman Catholic Sisterhoods there; but "although he
visited some convents, and witnessed the reception of a
Sister, there is no evidence of his having gathered from
this quarter much experience or information which could
be turned to account in his projects for Anglican Sister-
hoods." *
Four years, however, elapsed between the dedication of
the first Sisters and the establishment of the first Sisterhood.
^ Ibid., p. 10.
2 Miss Hughes said that she was influenced to take the step by the
following passage in Newman's Church of the Fathers, ch. 14: "And
if women have themselves lost so much by the present state of things,
what has been the loss of the poor, sick and aged, to whose service
they might consecrate the life which they refuse to shackle by the
marriage vow? What has been the loss of the ignorant, sinful and
miserable, among whom they only can move without indignity, who
bear a religious character upon them . . . ?" (Russell, Dr. Pusey,
P- 57).
^Liddon, op. ext., iii, II.
* Ibid.
1 12
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Pusey was patient and hopeful. To Miss Hughes he
wrote: "The time is not lost, but rather gained, which
passes before any formal institution is made. It is too
great a work to be brought about readily and yet
solidly. . . . The difficulties which people have to go
through before they enter upon it are a means of dis-
ciplining them to enter upon it aright. ... I doubt not,
then, that while such institutions are for the time withheld,
people are being prepared both to enter them in a deeper
spirit, and to welcome them more gratefully. Yet there
must be continued prayer for them." ^
Before turning to the foundation of the first Sisterhood,
it may be well to ask what kind of an institution Pusey
desired. It was seen in the last chapter that the Trac-
tarians had advanced from the somewhat emasculated mo-
nastic orders of Southey toward the old Romanist models.
When Pusey came to the specific matter of establishment,
he did not really retract his advanced views. However, he
recognized that a start must be made on the more plausible
ground of active social institutions. "It seemed best," he
wrote in 1839, "that at first they should not be so discur-
sive as those of the Romish Church in Ireland, but be
employed in hospitals, lunatic asylums, prisons, among the
females." ^ But that the emphasis on activity was only to
secure a start is shown by his preference for the Rule of
St. Francis de Sales.^ "The leanings of his mind drew
hirn from the more active orders of Augustinians and
Soeurs to the Rule of St. Francis de Sales' Order of the
Visitation, from which as we have seen active nursing
work had been displaced by ascetic regulations, and it was
a modification of this rule, providing for about four hours
^ Ibid., p. 12.
^Ibid., p. 6. Letter to Dr. Hook.
3 Cf. supra, p. III.
SISTERHOODS
113
daily of visiting among the poor, which was finally adopted
for the Park Village Community." ^
In view of later discussions, Pusey's attitude toward
vows at this time should be noted. In reviewing a German
Protestant pamphlet on the subject of Sisterhoods, he ob-
served :
It would do us harm, too, that he speaks so strongly against
vows, as of something inferior. We, who are admitted to the
priesthood, are under vows ; we devote ourselves for a whole
life; why should not women also for their offices? It seems
to me a more religious way of devoting themselves to their
office, than if they reserved to themselves the power to draw
back. Our very word "devoting himself" implies a vow.
Only, of course, they should have proved themselves before
they venture to make it. We should be very slow about mak-
ing vows, because in the state of things around us, there are
so many temptations to break them ; but still I should be sorry
for anything to be published against them in the abstract.^
SEC. II. THE SISTERHOOD AT PARK VILLAGE
When Robert Southey died in 1843, there was a discus-
sion as to a memorial for him. Lord John Manners wrote
later of his part in this discussion : "I suggested in a let-
ter to the Morning Post a Sisterhood of Mercy; the sug-
gestion was favorably received." ^ A few of its advocates
met in Manners' rooms at the Albany and determined to
start such a project. Two conditions were imposed : ( i )
That it should be located in a parish whose incumbent
would welcome it and become its spiritual head. The par-
ish suggested was that of Christ Church, St. Pancras, whose
vicar was the Rev. W. Dodsworth; (2) That the Bishop
of London should give his sanction. The Bishop, Dr.
1 Dock, History of Nursing, ii, 77.
2 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 8.
3 Russel, Dr. Pusey, pp. 58-59.
114
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Blomfield, was afraid and the matter was allowed to rest
for about two months, when he finally agreed.'
This interested group contained friends of Pusey. On
the day after his daughter Lucy's funeral in April, 1844,
his sorrow was lightened by two letters from these ad-
vocates of the institutions for which Lucy had longed.
The first was from Mr. T. D. Acland giving an account
of the two meetings in London to consider the subject.
The representative men interested are shown by the at-
tendance at the second meeting: Lord Lyttelton, Lord
Clive, Lord Camden, Lord John Manners, Mr. Dickinson,
Mr. Watts-Russell, Mr. Acland, Rev. W. Dodsworth and
Dr. Hook. Mr. W. E. Gladstone could not be present,
but wrote in warm sympathy of the project.^ The second
letter was from Lord John Manners, who had been in-
structed to ask Pusey whether he knew of any one qualified
for the post of Lady Superior.^
Pusey, however, could suggest no one for the position.
He had corresponded with several ladies who might serve
as Sisters, but none seemed qualified to lead. In this em-
barrassing position, the lay committee * in the name of
Lord John Manners went ahead and secured a house to
be occupied as soon as suitable Sisters could be found. The
house was a small detached one at 17 Park Village West,
not many minutes walk from Albany Street, Regent's Park.
On the ground floor it had a parlor, a recreation room, and
a small oratory, leading into each other. The upper rooms
were partitioned into six cells, and there were four attics.
The house throughout was plainly furnished.^
1 Ibid.
2 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 13.
3 Ibid.
* Trench, Dr. Pusey, pp. 266 et seq.
^ Liddon, op. cit., iii, 16.
SISTERHOODS 1 1 5
The institution was opened March 26, 1845, with only
two Sisters, Miss Jane Ellacombe and Miss Mary Bruce.
In a few weeks they were joined by Miss Terrot, a daughter
of the Bishop of Edinburgh, who said he was far from
being a Tractarian but nevertheless consented to his daugh-
ter's wishes.^ A few weeks later a Superior was found in
Miss Langston. "She was ten years older than any of
her companions; and seemed to have been a person of
'strong understanding, fervent piety, and extreme sim-
plicity of manners.' " ^ Her arrival was speedily followed
by four more, two being introduced by Mr. Dodsworth
and two by Mr. Upton Richards. While the house was
taken in the name of the lay committee, Pusey seems to
have been "regarded as the founder, and his office was
that of spiritual superintendent." ' In this he was assisted
by the Rev. W. Dodsworth. Pusey's motive was quite
dif¥erent from that of the London committee. "To them
it was less an effort once more to restore the consecrated
single life than an attempt to relieve the misery and ig-
norance of the great towns, and as a tribute to the wisdom
and forethought of Robert Southey." * Their social mo-
tive was shown in the "confidential" paper which they
circulated shortly after the Sisterhood was opened.^ Pusey,
on the other hand, primarily desired to revive the monastic
life. His influence gradually increased so that by the time
a permanent home came to be built in 1852, one biographer
writes: "The management of the Sisterhood appears to
^ Ibid., p. 17; cf. Yonge, in The Treasury, April, 1914.
^Ibid., p. 17.
3 Ibid., p. 18 ; cf. Cookesley, A Letter to His Grace the Archbishop
of Dublin on . . . Miss Sellon's Establishment (London, 1853), 5th
ed., p. 12.
* Ibid., p. 18.
^ Ibid., p. 21.
Il6 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
have passed away from the Lay Founders to Dr. Pusey,
Mr. Richards and Miss Sellon." ^
That Pusey's interest was not so purely social as that
of the Committee which he supplanted is shown also by
the Rule adopted. In determining this, Pusey wrote:
"We naturally went by experience. Lord John Manners
procured us the rules of the Sisters of Charity at Birming-
ham.' I had some rules by me, used by different bodies
in England and on the continent. We took as our basis
St. Augustine's Rule, as extant in an Epistle ^ of his to
some 'Sanctimoniales,' whom he had brought together. . . .
On this we engrafted others, always bearing in mind the
character of English churchwomen." * The completed
Rule of the Sisterhood consisted of thirty-three chapters.
Its sermonic nature is seen from the following letter of
a sympathizer : "Have you seen the rules of St. Saviour's,
Regent's Park? They are short sermons, expansions of
St. Augustine's. . . . The advantage of a sermonic rule
is that the reading of it gives a devotional atmosphere to
the house." ^ That its primary object was holiness, with
the social mark merely a means toward that end, is shown
by this Rule, which states the aim to be "to afford oppor-
tunities for persons apart from the world and its distrac-
tions to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and to grow
in the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, espe-
cially by cherishing and showing forth love to Him in His
poor and afflicted brethren." ^ The Rule insisted on the
1 Russell, op. ext., p. 59.
2 The influence of these restored Roman Catholic conventual orders
confirms the thesis of Ch. ii.
^ St. Augustine's Epistle, 211, 0pp. ii, 783 (ed. Ben).
* Liddon, op .cit., iii, 22.
s Letter of Rev. W. Butler to John M. Neale, in Towle, John Mason
Neale, A Memoir (London, 1906), p. 237.
6 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 23.
SISTERHOODS
117
various Christian graces of humility, charity, modesty,
purity, voluntary poverty, and obedience, and gave prac-
tical directions for their cultivation. The various elements
of the devotional side of the Christian life were treated,
such as. Holy Communion, the practice of self-examination,
confession, meditation and mortification. Rules were
given for directing the thoughts and purposes of the Sisters
in the various tasks, for silence at certain hours, for inter-
course with outsiders, for recreation, etc. The last por-
tion of the Rule was devoted to the works of mercy to
be undertaken: visiting the sick, teaching in schools, and
the admission of distressed women to a temporary home.^
Under a Rule which so emphasized the devotional fea-
tures, and with a guide so ascetic in his tendencies as Pusey
has been seen to be,^ there was danger that these inex-
perienced and enthusiastic Sisters might run to excesses.
Such charges were made.^ Pusey, however, denied any
ascetic excesses. "They have all which is necessary, good
food, warm clothing, firing. . . . But real care is taken
of their health. They keep the Fasts of the Church; but
their mode of keeping them is regulated by a physician,
and is not so strict as that of some was before they went
there. There is nothing distinctive, except great simplicity ;
but their general diet was regulated by the same kind physi-
cian." * His chief biographer Liddon asserts that Pusey
was not a rigourist at Park Village and evidences this by
the letter of a member.^
^ Ibid., pp. 23-24.
2 Vide, ch. iv.
3 The Rev. W. G. Cookesley, in A Letter to His Grace the Arch-
bishop of Dublin, p. 12, speaking of this institution, wrote: "The
rules of St. Augustine are very ascetic; and the Superior is bound by
them as well as the Sisters, and though she is called 'Mother,' she is
really only 'Sister Superior.' "
< Liddon, op. cit., iii, 27. ' Ibid., pp. 27-28.
Il8 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Perhaps the best indication of the Sisterhood Hfe is
shown by the daily schedule :
5 :oo a. m. Rise.
5 :20- 6:15 Breviary offices of Matins and Lauds.
6:15- 6:45 Private devotions.
6:45- 7:00 Make beds and clean up rooms.
7:00- 7:30 Prime.
7:30- 8:30 Service in Church.
8:30- 8:55 Breakfast.
8:55- 9:10 Terce.
9:10-12:30 Visiting the Poor.
12 :30- I :oo Repose.
I :oo- 1 :20 Sext and self-examination.
1 :20- 3.00 Dinner and recreation.
3 :oo- 5 :oo Nones and visiting the poor.
5 :oo- 6 :oo Service in Church.
6 :oo- 7 :oo Vespers and devotions on the Holy Com-
munion.
7 :oo- 8 :oo Supper and recreation.
8 :oo- 9 :oo Reading religious books.
9:00-10:00 Compline, self-examination, and private
devotions.
10:00 Retire to rest.*
The progress of the Sisterhood was not without opposi-
tion. This came from two sources. About six months
after its opening, the poor people turned against the
Sisters. They suspected them of being disguised Roman
Catholics. The people ceased to attend the services at
Christ Church. Mr. Dodsworth grew alarmed and wrote
to Pusey, suggesting a change in the Sister's dress.^ Pusey
Ibid., p. 24.
2 Trench, Dr. Pusey, p. 274 ; cf. Liddon, op. cit., iii, 26.
SISTERHOODS
iig
did not think favorably of yielding, but in the end a slight
alteration in costume was made/ The other source of op-
position was the episcopal authority. The Rule of the
Sisterhood was not shown to the Bishop at first, for they
desired to wait until "trial enough had been made of the
institution, for him to be ready to take it up." ^ The
Bishop had allowed the plan of the lay committee to pro-
ceed, as has been seen, but he was more or less afraid. On
April 28, 1845, Dodsworth wrote : "The Bishop seems as
favorably disposed as I could have expected. We must
try to strike out of the rules what would offend him, so
that no essential point is sacrificed." ^ The point to which
Bishop Blomfield seems to have objected was the type of
devotions. In 1848, Pusey wrote :
I know and have regretted that the Bishop of London disap-
proved my "adaptation" of Roman books. I would have
altered aftything which I knew his Lordship to disapprove of,
as departing, if he so thought, from the English Church. But
in these adaptations I admitted whatever I believed to be true,
believing it also not to be contrary to the teaching of the
Church of England ; in the Devotions of the Sisters there is
nothing but what is countenanced and sanctioned in principle
by the Church of England.*
Whether Pusey was able to satisfy the Bishop of this,
is not stated; but there is no record of further episcopal
interference. As to general opposition outside of these
two sources, there is no mention. It would seem that the
public took little notice of this institution, perhaps because
the inauguration was very quiet and also because in 1845,
1 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 27.
^ Ibid., p. 22; quoted from letter by Pusey to Mr. A. J. B. Hope,
1848.
3 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 23.
* Letter to A. J. B. Hope, in Liddon, op. cit., iii, 26.
I20
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
popular attention was absorbed by Newman's secession to
the church of Rome.^
During the next few years the work of the Sisterhood
grew. The poor were visited, a Ragged School was
started, and the confidence of neighbors was secured.^
True to their promise the lay founders planned to give the
Sisterhood a permanent home. Pusey came to their aid
with an offer of £4000 for the purpose of acquiring a site
and erecting a building.^ This house was erected at
Osnaburgh Street, being the first one built for an Anglican
Community. "Building operations were for a time sus-
pended, because the Government was not able to decide
whether religious houses were in accordance with the Eng-
lish law; ultimately, however, the Legislature suffered the
work to proceed." ^ This house was in the parish of St.
Mary, and Mr. Stuart became the spiritual head.^
The establishment was soon lost sight of in the publicity
given to other similar institutions. "Presently the original
Sisterhood in Park Village was broken up, and the sur-
viving members of it joined the Devonport Society" of
Miss Sellon, the woman whose Sisterhood was to be for
a time the outstanding example of the whole movement.®
Its life may seem short, but its significance is considerable.
It furnishes the best example of what Pusey's own ideas of
a Sisterhood were. It was an experiment, but it gave a
model from which other communities were to take sug-
gestions.
1 Liddon, op. cit., iii, 18.
2 Ibid., p. 29.
3 Russell, Dr. Pusey, p. 59.
* Goodman, Sisterhoods in the Church of England (London, 1863).
Preface, p. 6.
5 Russell, op. cit., p. 59.
^Ibid., p. 81.
SISTERHOODS
121
SEC. III. SOCIETY OF THE HOLY TRINITY OF DEVONPORT
On January i, 1848, Dr. Phillpotts, the Bishop of Exeter,
made an unwonted appeal, through the columns of the
Guardian, for the poor in the town of Devonport, a suburb
of Plymouth. "The ground," he said, "which Devonport
covers is probably the most densely populated in Eng-
land." ^ The rate was about 130,000 to the square mile.
There was a need of four large parish churches, while at
that time there was "no parochial church whatever; the
parish church (that of Stoke Damerel) being at some dis-
tance and capable of containing only a few hundreds, for
it has never been enlarged since the parish ceased to be
merely rural and agricultural." ^ For this needy field the
Bishop appealed to the Christian charity of England.
Lydia Sellon, the daughter of a well-to-do naval officer,
read this public letter and decided to of¥er her services.^
She had already visited the Sisterhood at Park Village and
was known to Pusey.* He counselled Miss Sellon to make
Plymouth and Devonport her sphere of work, watched her
labors with keenest sympathy, and directed largely her
course." Arriving in Devonport, she worked alone for
about four months.® At that time another lady came to
help her, and later three or four more. They took a little
house in Mitre Place.' She had some private means, and
her father, who had consented to her going, went down
^Guardian, iii, 15 (1848).
2 Ibid.
^Guardian, Feb. 14, 1849, p. 112, Letter to Rev. John Hatchard.
* Kelway, George Rundle Prynne (London, 1905), p. 63.
5 Russell, op. cit., p. 80.
* Ludlow, Woman's Work in the Church (London, 1866), p. 294 et
seq.; cf. Guardian, Feb. 14, 1849, p. 112.
^ Ludlow, op. cit., p. 295.
122
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
later and bought a chapel for them in Morice-Town, a
section of Devonport.^
Her work was at first chiefly educational. She testified :
"I collected the children myself out of the street." ^ Thus
three schools were started, one of boys and two of girls.
The "educational work soon developed into something
larger and deeper, as was inevitable in a district devoid of
church or other means of organization, where the clergy
could scarcely touch the spiritual needs of the 5000 souls
committed to their care." ^ The extent to which the char-
ity work was developed may be seen from Miss Sellon's
testimony: "We receive orphans and educate them our-
selves; we collect schools and support them; we visit the
sick and destitute poor; and any other work of charity
that comes under our notice we would gladly perform." *
Something of the effect of this broadening work was shown
in St. James' District, where in the beginning of 1848 there
was no school for the poor and only one licensed place of
worship — a room over a beer shop. There were in January,
1849, five schools open in which about five hundred chil-
dren were instructed, and a Dissenting chapel had been
purchased, which held about seven hundred.^ The Or-
phans' Home, which was started, received the support of
many leading people."
So well did the work succeed, that in 1849 by Pusey's
advice, the Sisters were formed into "The Society of the
1 Guardian, Feb. 21, 1849, p. 122.
2 Ibid., Testimony before the Bishop of Exeter.
3 Kelway, op. cit., pp. 63-64.
* Guardian, Feb. 21, 1849.
Guardian, Jan. 17, 1849.
8 Among the contributors were the Queen Dowager, the Bishop of
Exeter, Lady Manners, Marchioness of Bath, Sir T. D. Acland, Rev.
Edw. Bickersteth and others prominent in church and society. ("The
Orphans' Home" — Advertisement in the Guardian, Feb. 7, 1849).
SISTERHOODS
123
Holy Trinity of Devonport." According to their leader,
they called themselves Sisters of Mercy and not Sisters
of Charity, because the latter was a Roman Catholic order.^
Miss Sellon had made a great impression on Pusey. He
thought she might become a kind of Superior-General over
all the Sisterhoods in the Church of England.^ But this
hope was blighted by the early development of hostility
to the Devonport institution.
In 1849 a storm of local opposition broke forth. In this,
certain of the local clergy took the lead. The Rev.' John
Hatchard visited the institution, corresponded with Miss
Sellon in regard to certain mooted questions, and then pub-
lished their correspondence.^ He charged her with being,
if not Roman Catholic, at least Tractarian ("of whom
about 200 have become Romanists") and, therefore, tend-
ing to become Roman Catholic. The grounds on which
he made this charge of Romanism were : the dress of the
nuns, the name 'Sisters of Mercy,' the wearing of the cross
in public, etc. The Devonport Telegraph also published
charges against Miss Sellon, based on the testimony of
three inmates of the Orphan's Home.*.
So bitter became the opposition and so great the excite-
ment, that the Bishop of Exeter held an inquiry on Feb-
ruary 15, 1849. At this hearing the charges enumerated
against the Sisters were : the wearing of the cross, the
beads, the movable cross, the services in the Oratory, the
bowing to the cross, the nun-like hoods, the mutilated
Bibles, and others of similar nature. In defence. Miss
Sellon reviewed her work and denied the charges of Ro-
1 Guardian, Feb. 21, 1849, p. 122; for the Rules of the Sisterhood vide
Appendix, iv.
2 Russell, op. cit., p. 81.
3 Guardian, Feb. 14, 1849.
* Ibid., Feb. 21, 1849.
124
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
manism. After listening to the charges and the defence,
the bishop said : "If there have been some things which
I wish had not been adopted, they are absolutely over-
powered by the cloud of virtues and graces exemplified in
their conduct." ^ The objectionable features in his opin-
ion were the movable cross, the flowers in the oratory and
the little Romanist touches. But he expressed his great
pleasure that the Church of England was emulating some
of the good features of Roman Catholicism :
I rejoice that Miss Sellon knows that such Sisterhoods exist
in Protestant countries abroad. I had heard so but I did not
inquire. I rejoice that there is established in England a Sis-
terhood of Mercy. I rejoice to thank her, as a member of the
Church of England, for having by her wonderful exertions res-
cued in part her Church from that reproach hitherto very fre-
quently borne against her by the Roman Catholics, viz. that
we are incapable of raising among our women anything like
that spirit of love which has exerted itself to so wonderful a
degree in many instances in Roman Catholic countries.^
This attitude of the Bishop was shared by the Morning
Post, the Morning Chronicle, the radical Spectator and the
Guardian. The Diocesan Inspectors of Church Schools
had also borne witness to the orthodoxy of Miss Sellon's
instruction.^ A committee composed of the Mayor of
Devonport and several clergy of Stoke Damerel published
a testimonial to the purity of their teaching and the value
of their work :
We have visited this establishment and have fully ascertained
the principles on which it is conducted. And we feel bound
to state our conscientious conviction that the ladies who super-
intend it are sincerely attached to the Church of England.
1 Ibid.
^ Ibid., p. 123.
3 Ibid., p. 121.
SISTERHOODS
125
They devote themselves to works of piety and charity. They
visit the sick with the sanction and under the direction of the
parochial clergy. We are also prepared to assure the public
that the books used in the instruction of the children are from
the list of the S. P. C. K.^
The episcopal enquiry seems to have silenced the opposi-
tion for a time and to have inaugurated a period of marked
progress for the Sisterhood. The Bishop of Exeter became
the Visitor. Miss Sellon began to receive extensive finan-
cial aid.- The public interest in the institution was
marked.^ Others were following her example, as for in-
stance, an establishment near Fitzroy-Square.* One rea-
son for this popularity was the splendid work done by the
Sisters in the cholera epidemic of 1849.^ Whatever the
causes, the years from 1849-52 showed remarkable growth.
The extent of the social work March 20, 1852, was shown
by the letter of a neighboring clergyman to the Bishop of
Exeter. The works enumerated were: (i) Orphan's
Home. 27 children. Elementary branches taught. (2)
College for Sailor Boys, 26. Elementary branches taught.
(3) House of Peace for destitute girls, 12 inmates. Re-
ligious instruction given. Training for nurses and serv-
ants. (4) Home for Old Sailors. Four men and one
wife. (5) Industrial School. 120 young women. (6)
Houses of Hope, 150 to 160. Lodging houses for poor
1 Signed : John Smith, Mayor of Devonport ; W. J. St. Aubyn, Rec-
tor of Stoke Damerel; Samuel Dennis, Curate of Stoke Damerel; J. P.
Oliver, Ass't Curate; John Lampen, Minister of St. John the Baptist
Chapel, Devonport; Samuel Rundle, Minister of St. Aubyn's Chapel,
Devonport {Guardian, Feb. 7, 1849).
2 Guardian, Mar. 14, 1849, p. 177.
2 Cf. space given in the Guardian during 1849.
* Guardian, June 27th, 1849, quoting from Spectator.
^ Ludlow, Woman's Work, etc., p. 295 ; cf. Guardian, June 19, 1850,
p. 442.
126
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
families. (7) Lodging houses in connection with the In-
dustrial School. (8) Day Ragged School. Average 60
to 70. (9) House for Destitute children. ( 10) Soup-
kitchens, 80 to 100 persons fed daily.^
Not content with the work at Devonport, the Mother
House sent out branches. An idea of the method of in-
stituting branch houses may be seen from the testimony of
an ex-Sister.^ According to this account,^ Miss Sellon
and three Sisters went to Bristol. They dressed as poor
women, and not as Sisters. A small house in an obscure
court was taken for £12 a year. Since the Sisters had
to do all the housework themselves, they took kitchen train-
ing. After a short time Miss Sellon and one Sister re-
turned to Devonport, leaving two Sisters to handle the
work. These were constantly being changed. The city
of Bristol was divided into two districts, one for each
Sister. After thus gaining a foothold in the social work
and the public confidence, they would formally set up a
Sisterhood.
This period of remarkable growth was interrupted by
another serious outbreak of opposition in 1852. It was
charged that Miss Sellon's Sisterhood had developed more
monastic tendencies since its origin. The two chief
grounds of attack were (i) the inability of the Sisters to
withdraw at will; and (2) the control of the Sisters' prop-
erty. It was upon these grounds that the Bishop of
Exeter announced his withdrawal as Visitor. As to the
ability of a Sister to withdraw, the original Rule had
1 Letter of Geo. R. Prynne to Bishop Exeter, Appendix, Mar. 20,
1852, p. 12 et seq. Cf. Letter of Sister Catherine to Rev. E. Coleridge,
Jan. 14, 1852, quoted in Colles, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of Misery
(London, 1852), pp. 23-24.
2 Spurrell, Miss Sellon and the Sisters of Mercy (London, 1852), p.
22 et seq.
8 Guardian, Mar. 31, 1852, p. 209.
SISTERHOODS
127
granted "free liberty to any Sister to withdraw, if it shall
seem good to her." ^ But Miss Sellon, in her reply to
the attacks of the Rev. James Spurrell, had spoken of the
"sinfulness of looking back" in any one who "had per-
ceived this calling, and who after due trial had yet re-
tracted." ^ Miss Sellon's father, however, denied that she
ever prevented the departure of Sisters. She had written
to him in regard to one whom she had been charged with
holding against her will : "There was nothing to prevent
her passing out of the house unquestioned, at any hour;
there are no bolts, nor bars, nor wardens, and each Sister
is so fully employed in her own occupation, that none would
have asked her errand. Indeed the rule is not to do so." ^
In these charges and countercharges, it is difficult to de-
tect the facts. The testimony of ex-Sisters must be con-
sidered with a certain allowance for their animosity.
However, the Guardian, although friendly to Miss Sellon's
establishments, accepts these charges as deserved.*
As to the other ground of attack, the question of a
Sister's property, the original rule was, "that any Sister
so withdrawing, or in any way ceasing to be a member of
the Society, shall be entitled to her own personal prop-
erty; but neither she nor her heirs shall be entitled to any
share of the common property of the Society." But in
1852, Miss Sellon in replying to Spurrell, wrote: "What-
ever is kept for themselves is not considered as their own
1 Phillpotts, Letter to Miss Sellon (London, 1852), p. 4 et seq.
2 Ibid., p. 21.
3 Sellon, Miss Sellon and the Sisters of Mercy (London, 1852), 4th
ed., p. 3.
* Guardian, Mar. 31, 1852, p. 209. Whatever may have been the facts
as to the freedom of departure, Miss Sellon admits that no one had left
after becoming a Sister and only four before their veiling. (Guardian,
Jan. IS, 1851.)
■■ Phillpotts, op. cit., p. 5.
128 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
but as belonging to the community. We have all things
in common. One of the Sisters who is treasurer and ac-
countant keeps all the money. When we receive money
for our own, we also put it in her hands, unless any Sister
thinks it her duty to send it out of the community as soon
as she receives it." ^ While Miss Sellon, writing to the
Bishop of Exeter in 1852, says that a Sister is free to
take her property with her," the above statement would
lead to the belief in the truth of Spurrell's quotation from
their Rule of Holy Poverty: "It is not permitted to any
Sister to appropriate anything however small, or under
whatever pretext, to herself ; since each shall on the day of
the entrance renounce in favor of the community, not only
the possession, but the use and disposition of everything
which is hers, or shall be given to her, all this being under
the entire regulation of the Superior . . ." '
The excesses of the establishment in these two points in-
duced the Bishop of Exeter to resign as Visitor, but he
praised the work and wished the Sisterhood to continue.
Along other lines, however, increased monastic tendencies
were noted, and the critics were far less lenient than the
Bishop. One objectionable feature was the exalted claim
1 Sellon, Reply to a Tract by the Rev. James Spurrell (London,
1852), p. 22.
2 Guardian, Mar. 31, 1852, p. 207.
3 Spurrell, op. cit., p. 18 ; cf. Cookesley, A Letter to His Grace, the
Archbishop of Dublin, etc., p. 13.
The report ran through London society that Miss Sellon had made a
Sister sign away her property. Her father came to her defence with
the following explanation : "As to money, I may assure this gentleman,
that no lady under 24 has ever presented this Institution with any
money out of the principal of her fortune. Their annual incomes (ac-
cording to regulations) are contributed while resident to the support
of the Sisterhood, for be it known, the whole of the expenses of the
Sisterhood are paid out of these private resources, which admit of
contributions also toward their schools and charities." Sellon, op. cit.,
p. 31-
SISTERHOODS
129
of obedience made by the Superior. Cookesley, taking his
evidence from ex-Sisters, quotes as follows from the "Holy
Vow of Obedience" :
Of your Rule of Holy Obedience, ye who have offered up to
God your judgment and your will, must strive to preserve you
In the submission ye have professed. Actions, in themselves
indifferent, become sanctified when done in the spirit of holy
obedience. For all authority descends from God and Superiors
bear the image of the divine power of God, which he vouch-
safed to imprint on them ; and he will surely require it at your
hands, if ye despise his authority in them.^
The Bishop of Exeter thought Miss Sellon had gone too
far in this regard, coming to be called "Spiritual Mother,"
"Mother in Christ," etc." In reply to these charges, the
lady in question made a distinction between a vow of obedi-
ence and a promise of obedience. In regard to a certain
Sister she said : "She never took a vow. The promise of
obedience is not a vow. A promise is exceedingly sacred
and binding as far as it goes; but a promise of obedience
to myself is not a vow to God." ^ However, she adds:
"We are to look on our superiors as in the place of
Christ." * From the evidence there seems little doubt that
the Sisterhood had advanced far beyond its original ideas
of obedience.
Another Roman Catholic tendency was the division of
the Sisterhood into graded orders. Of these there were
three. While the statements ^ in regard to these are some-
what conflicting, the nature of them is quite clear. There
was an "Order of the Holy Ghost" or "Grey Sisters" who
^ Cookesley, op. cit., pp. 6-7.
2 Phillpotts, A Letter to Miss Sellon, p. 8.
3 Sellon, Reply to a Tract by the Rev. J. Spurrell, p. 9.
*Ibid., p. II.
5 Spurrell, op. cit., pp. 13-16; cf. Sellon, op. cit., p. 7.
I30 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
lived in the world, but as far as possible according to the
rules of the community. The second division was the
"Black Order," living in the community, entirely under the
control of the Superior, and engaged in the social work.
Of this, one critic says: "If a Sister once enters the
'Black Order,' as it is called, she is irrevocably handed over
for the rest of her life, to the service of the Lady Su-
perior." ^ The third order is the "Order of the Sacred
Heart." They were contemplative. Of them, Miss Sellon
herself writes: "From sickness or other causes they are
unable to undertake laborious work, but they wish to live
a quiet life engaged in reading and prayer and such occu-
pations as best suit their health, such as needlework, writ-
ing, etc." ^ A former Sister writes that the Sisters be-
longing to this third order are actually termed nuns by
the other Sisters, that they are strictly "enclosed" nuns,
"whose time is supposed to be spent in almost perpetual
prayer for the living or the dead." ^ This order was
modeled after the Poor Clares in the Roman Church.*
Charges of Romanism were made along other lines. The
most important of these were : ( i ) Regular confession and
absolution.^ This attack centered around George R. Prynne,
who was charged with compelling children of very tender
years to confess privately in revolting forms. Bishop
Phillpotts called a hearing September 22, 1852, and ex-
onerated Prynne, who was supported by Pusey and others.^
(2) Roman Catholic symbols and pictures.'' (3) Prayers
1 Cookesley, op. cit., p. 8.
2 Sellon, op. cit., p. 7.
3 Goodman, Sisterhods in the Church of England, p. 125.
^ Ibid., p. 213.
5 Cookesley, op. cit., p. 15 ; cf. Eardley, The Diocese of Exeter (Lon-
don, 1852), p. 5.
« Kelway, George Rundle Prynne, p. 83 et seq.
7 Cookesley, op. cit., p. 16.
SISTERHOODS
for the departed.^ (4) The common use of the Sarum
Psalter, and on special occasions the Sarum Breviary.^
(5) Doctrine of "Infallibility" as held by the Superior.^
(6) Fasting and physical austerities.*
Another, and perhaps the most peculiarly monastic, de-
velopment of the Sisterhood was its Romanistic idea of
virginity. One sympathetic critic thought the cause was
the lack of a married man to direct :
Left to the direction of an unmarried woman, it seems abso-
lutely impossible that they should not gradually merge into
ascetic celibacy — Romish celibacy . . . , which sooner or
later only sustains itself by the polygamous figment of a spe-
cial union of the individual Sisters with Christ. I can see
the germ of this feeling already in those words of one of
Miss Sellon's letters, "Called to a close union with the Be-
loved, the chief among ten thousand, you may not adorn
yourself for other eyes." ^
Miss Goodman, a former Sister, attributed these mo-
nastic developments to "a certain lady of high standing"
who joined the community. She was a woman of showy
attainments, and fantastic mediaeval ideas, derived from
reading the saints of old."
So severe became the criticism of Miss Sellon's institu-
tion that Pusey disclaimed official connection with it.
Writing to Keble, September, 1869, he said: "I am not
sure from what you kindly write . . ., whether you do not
think that I have some office as to the Devonport So-
1 Ibid., pp. 16-17.
2 Ibid., p. 18.
3 Ibid., p. 18
* Ibid., pp. 8-9.
5 Ludlow, Woman's Work in the Church, p. 301.
^ Goodman, Experiences of an English Sister of Mercy, quoted in
Russell, Dr. Pusey, pp. 79-80.
132
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
ciety. ... At Devonport I have never had any office." ^
Although Pusey may have held no constitutional office in
the society, he was a frequent visitor.^ His aid and coun-
sel in the early days of the community have been seen.
According to the testimony of the orphans and the ex-
Sisters, he acted as confessor to Miss Sellon ^ and to many
of the Sisters. "He receives vows of celibacy from some
of his spiritual children ; . . . and in receiving those vows,
he is only repeating that conduct at Devonport which he
notoriously practices elsewhere." * This statement of his
critic is given further credence by Pusey's defence of
Prynne when charged with requiring confession. Pusey
wrote to Prynne, "It is all our cause." ^ While Pusey may
not have approved all Miss Sellon's extravagant ideas, his
general support of, and intimate connection with, the Sister-
hood, even to his death, is an undoubted fact.
The attack on Miss Sellon's society aroused wide public
interest. Sir William S. Harris wrote : "I have observed
in passing the shop windows redolent with announcements
of controversial tracts on this question." " This publicity
probably helped to spread the Sisterhood idea. At least
it did not kill Miss Sellon's institution. A number of the
Sisters at Devonport accompanied Florence Nightingale to
the Crimea.'^ One of these, Margaret Goodman, found on
her return that the monastic tendencies had developed so
far that it was impossible for her to remain a member.*
1 Trench, The Story of Dr. Pusey's Life (London, 1900), p. 278.
2 Cookesley, op. cit., p. 14.
3 Cookesley, op. cit., p. 14 ; cf. Spurrell, Miss Sellon and the Sisters
of Mercy, p. 23.
* Cookesley, op. cit., p. 14.
^ Kelway, op. cit., p. 87.
'^Guardian, April 7, 1852, p. 227.
^ Dock, A History of Nursing, ii, 278.
8 Chronicle of Convocation, 1861-1863, p. 965. Speech of the Bishop
of Llandaff.
SISTERHOODS
Yet the Sisterhood continued to grow and spread. The
Mother House now forms a stately pile of buildings, called
generally "The Abbey," and is the property of the Society
of the Holy Trinity, commonly known as the Ascot Sister-
hood/
From the standpoint of social work the Sisterhood
merited praise, in spite of its monastic excesses. "It is
perhaps true, however, that some of the ceremonials in-
stituted by Miss Sellon and Dr. Pusey lent themselves
easily to the ridicule of the irreverent. Nevertheless the
exquisitely refining influence of the Sister's atmosphere
should not be forgotten by critics, for this must remain
as their most precious contribution to the social life around
them. The love of beauty, with the consistent determina-
tion to bring it into the lives of the people, and a sensitive
consideration for the feelings of the poor, were abiding
principles with Miss Sellon, and so sordid and hideous
appears to have been the lot of the poor by whom she was
surrounded that this should ever be remembered of her
gratefully." ^
SEC. IV. SOCIETY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST
The work of Miss Sellon had its origin in the necessity
of educating the poor. There was at this time another
social need attracting the attention of the church. This
was the condition of the prostitutes, or fallen women. The
Rev. John Armstrong seems to have been the originator
of the Church Penitentiary movement.^ He sought to
enlist public interest by articles in the Quarterly Review,
September, 1848, in the Christian Remembrancer, January,
1 Kelway, op. cit., p. 65.
2 Dock, A History of Nursing, ii, p. 79.
3 Carter, Life and Letters, ed. by W. H. Hutchings (London, 1903),
p. 80.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
1849, in the English Review, March, 1849.^ Arch-
deacon Manning's sermons, entitled "Saints and Penitents,"
also gave an impulse to the movement ; ^ while Mr. R. Brett
had a plan for a penitentiary in charge of a Warden, Sub-
Warden and Sisters.^ But the man who carried the peni-
tentiary system out into practice on a large scale and con-
nected it with the Sisterhood movement was Thomas Thel-
lusson Carter.
While Armstrong was making his appeal for public sup-
port, the Houses of Mercy at Clewer and Wantage arose
independently of his plans and consultation, the former
opening in June, 1849, and the latter in the autumn of the
same year.* The former is of interest in this story for
it was here that Carter worked and it was at this house
that he began his Sisterhood.
Carter was the rector of Clewer, and his curate was the
Rev. C. Wellington Johnson. In that parish was a most
miserable district, known as Clewer St. Stephens and one of
the worst social problems of this district was that of the
abandoned women. ^ "Through the influence of the widow
of a clergyman, Mrs. Tennant, and the zeal of Mr. Welling-
ton Johnson (afterwards Archdeacon Furse) a few fallen
women had been drawn to give up evil ways, and through
her great kindness had found a temporary abode in Mrs.
Tennant's house. These formed a nucleus and others
gathered around them. Thus began the pentitentiary work
at Clewer.* Mrs. Tennant had been the keeper of a school
and hence her house was better adapted to such a work than
1 Carter, A Memoir of John Armstrong (Oxford, 1857), pp. 233-234.
2 Carter, op. cit., p. 80.
3 Ibid., p. 214.
^ Ibid., p. 237.
5 Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell (London, 1884), p. 30.
* Carter, Life and Letters, pp. 82-83.
SISTERHOODS
many others. On June 29, 1849, two prostitutes took up
their abode, and on the next day four more. Within four
months, eighteen were housed there.* The first plan was to
hold them only temporarily, but soon the idea of a perman-
ent house arose. In February, 1851 Mrs. Tennant was
forced by poor health to give up her part in the work.^
The House of Mercy was now established, but Ihe ques-
tion of workers was much under consideration. Armstrong
at first had preferred widows to unmarried women as
workers among these fallen women.^ Carter, however, felt
that a Sisterhood, regulated by the rules of a religious life,
was the only efficient agency.* His reasons are well stated
by him as follows :
Sisterhoods, or the system of religious communities, were a
legitimate and necessary, but yet a developed, advance upon
the first simple theory (of penitentiary work). It is mani-
festly impossible for ladies to bear the burden of such works
single-handed. Moreover, where even a few are constantly
working together, some order is requisite to give unity and
power to the work. There must be constituted authority and
fixed rule, and this according to some church form.^
Thus the Sisterhood was the outgrowth of the social
need ; and yet the pentitentiary work was the occasion rather
than the cause of the Sisterhood. Carter had felt the desire
for some time of reviving conventual life. "In the manu-
script notes which Mr. Carter left for his children, he writes
that he 'had long dreamed of having a share in some way in
the restoration of Religious Communities, an idea, I fancy,
1 Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell, pp. 30-31.
2 Ibid., p. 32.
3 Carter, A Memoir of John Armstrong, p. 221.
* Armstrong, Appeal for the Formation of a Church Penitentiary
(London, 1849), Appendix by T. T. Carter, p. 15.
5 Carter, A Memoir of John Armstrong, p. 246.
136 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
first started in my mind from some remarks of Southey
in his 'Book of the Church,' in which he expressed his hope
of their revival.' " ^ With this idea in his mind, Carter
added several new features to the penitentiary movement
as begun by Armstrong. Among these were : ( i ) Volun-
tary confession; (2) Sisterhoods to care for the penitents;
(3) Opportunity for a Magdalen career, although not as a
full Sister; (4) Reception of lady penitents, who were kept
separate but under the same rule.'
The development of a Sisterhood at the Clewer House
of Mercy came about rather indirectly. In 185 1 the Rev.
Charles A. Harris came to give all his attention to the peni-
tentiary work there. ^ He had married a sister of Harriet
Monsell, who came to live with Mr. and Mrs. Harris. The
idea of a Sister's life attracted her and she formally devoted
herself to it on May 29, 185 1.* She became a household
member of the House of Mercy in 1852 and in the summer
of that year, two other ladies joined her in the religious life.^
Mrs. Monsell was formally professed as a Sister and in-
stalled as Superior on St. Andrew's Day, 1852.'' She was
of a practical and motherly type, quite different from the
common idea of a Roman Catholic Superior. It is inter-
esting therefore to note her conception of a Sister's life:
I suppose the Sisters must always be ready to leave God for
God (as they say) to leave God in devotion to work for God
in those for whom He shed His blood; or rather bearing
1 Carter, J. F. M., Life and Work of the Rev. T. T. Carter (London,
1911), p. 102. Another evidence of Southey's influence in the revival
of monastic life among women. Carter's close connection with Pusey
and the Tractarians is also shown by his letters, vide. Life and Letters,
pp. 21-25.
2 Carter, Life and Letters, pp. 83-86.
3 Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell, p. 35.
* Ibid., p. 40.
p. 37.
«Ibid., p. 40.
SISTERHOODS
God about them, to be ready to use broken prayers for them-
selves and for them. I don't think that Martha's work will
hurt Mary's contemplation in this life, so that both are really
about our Lord.^
This idea of combining the active and the contemplative
life in the religious community was shared by Carter. His
conception of a Sister's life is well shown in the Constitu-
tions of the community :
The community of St. John the Baptist is instituted for the
promotion of the honor and worship due to Almighty God,
for the cultivation of the counsels and graces which He has
taught as the way of perfection, and for active service both in
spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The Sisters volun-
tarily offer themselves to Almighty God that through the sac-
ramental power of a life thus dedicated to Him in poverty,
chastity and obedience, they may in lowliness, detachment and
hiddenness of heart, cherish Christ in themselves and reveal
Him to others after the example of St. John the Baptist. . .
Thus it is seen that Carter desired a more practical and less
contemplative life than did Pusey.^ He did not turn to
foreign ideals, but aimed to appreciate the English character.
Yet he had great admiration for the Saints ; * and his
emphasis on the regard for these, together with his care for
the Sisters' books of spiritual instructions,'' lends some
credence to the statement of a very moderate critic that "the
first object (of the Sisterhood) is not charity but devotion
— devotion kept alive by external aids in the performance of
infinite and infinitesimal minutiae." ^
1 Ibid., p. 58.
2 Quoted in Carter, Life and Letters, p. loi.
3 Ibid., p. 103.
* Ibid., p. 104.
5 Cf. Spiritual directions and books to be used, ibid., pp. 124-125.
*Wister, Sarah B., in Lippincotf s Magazine, ix, 570 (1872).
138 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
A comprehensive and natural view of the nature of a
Sisterhood was given by Carter at the Church Congress at
Stoke-on-Trent, 1875. It is as follows:
A Sisterhood, as distinguished from other kinds of associated
communities of women, implies a vocation to live and work
wholly and undividedly for God, as a permanent state; an
aptitude for devotion and useful service ; a religious rule ; fel-
lowship in prayer and work binding all together; a gradation
of offices with recognized authority ; rights and customs care-
fully guarded; and a systematic way of adapting the capaci-
ties and dispositions of the different members of the com-
munity to the necessities of the work undertaken. The or-
ganization becomes complete when through the Bishop's sanc-
tion the seal of the blessing of the Church is set upon it.^
With this comprehensive definition of a Sisterhood set
forth, it is well to see how Carter's plan worked out in
certain specific lines. In regard to virginity, he went back
to Christ ^ and to St. Paul ^ for his authority in maintain-
ing it as a higher life for those who can bear it. After
twenty-five years' experience in Sisterhood work, he wrote :
"The virgin life is not instituted, indeed, like marriage, as
a law of nature, to be sanctified by grace ; but it is announced
as a special gift of grace, to be impressed upon nature, in
those who are able to receive it." * Carter accepted a
modification of the Roman Catholic idea of the Sister as the
"Bride of Christ." " 'In the Sisterhood life there is an
accentuating of the calling which in truth belongs to the
whole church, to be the "Bride of Christ." ' " ^ The chas-
1 Quoted in Carter, Life and Letters, p. 102.
2 Matt. 19:12.
3 I Cor., 7.
* Carter, Life and Letters, pp. iio-iii. Quoted irom Are Vows of
Celibacy in Early Life Inconsistent with the Word of God? 1878.
5 Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell, Introd., p. 12. Quoting from
Webb, Sisterhood Life and Woman's Work, pp. 64-65.
SISTERHOODS
tity of the Sisters was carefully guarded. Visits of relatives
were permitted at any time, but "the visits of other friends
and the time of such visits must be previously approved by
the Superior." ^ Moreover, "the Sisters shall not speak to
the penitents nor allow the penitents to speak to them con-
cerning their former sins." ^
As to poverty, another essential mark of the monastic
state, "in the Clewer Community, it is understood to mean
the entire surrender of all that may be possessed, so that
a Sister should have no longer any property whatever at her
own disposal, for purposes of personal use or enjoyment.
She may be possessed of capital, but the annual proceeds
must be given either to the Community Fund or to objects
external to the Community, according to the agreement
made with the Warden and Superior at the time of her
Profession.* This statement is confirmed by the testimony
of G. E. Freeman, the Solicitor of the Society, before the
Parliamentary commission. He said that the Sisters could
hold no property, a regulation equivalent to a vow of pov-
erty, but that "the Sisters take no life vows." * Each Sister
Ts supposed to contribute to the Sisterhood the equivalent of
£50 a year if able. Sisters can not take away any property
they bring in, for it would be all spent.^ A council of
finance for the Sisterhood, composed of the Superior, As-
sistant Superior, and five Sisters elected annually, have full
control of the money and expenditures." Precautions are
taken to prevent the charge of inducing Sisters to give up
their property, so frequently made against Miss Sellon's
Sisterhood and Roman Catholic orders. Rule 17 reads:
1 Rule 52, quoted in Parliamentary Report, 1870, vil, p. 227.
2 Rule 56, quoted, ibid., p. 228.
3 Carter, Life and Work of T. T. Carter, pp. 108-109.
* Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, 190.
5 Ibid., p. 192.
^ Ibid., p. 190.
I40 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
In the event of any Sister desiring to give or bequeath any
property to the community, or any of its houses, she shall
satisfy the Visitor that she has informed the next of kin, or
the next in degree, if more than one (or give to the Visitor a
sufficient reason for her not having done so) of her inten-
tion, that any objections on their part may be duly considered,
and that they may have opportunity of laying such objections
before the Visitor.^
A third, and perhaps the most mooted, question was that
of vows. "When the Clewer Rule was formed the bishop
(Wilberforce) insisted on its being inserted in the forefront
that the Community was formed without vows. It was
not long before Sisters came who desired vows, in the con-
sciousness that they would be a support to their life and true
expression of their religious vocation. As soon as these
cases occurred, the bishop was consulted." ^ Carter said :
"I see no reason to refuse them," and added, "the bishop
left me free to do as I thought well." Hence "they were
commonly taken as a matter of free allowance, and the
bishop knew it and left the matter thus free." ^ Later
Bishop Stubbs allowed it to be inserted in the Rule that
vows are taken.* Sarah B. Wister says that on her visit
she learned that vows were taken for life.® There are con-
flicting statements, however, in regard to the taking of
vows. Freeman, the solicitor, testified : "The Sisters take
no vows. I do not know whether they feel that they would
be at liberty to withdraw whenever they chose." ® And
later he qualified this statement, thus : "When I say there
are no vows, I should probably say that there are no life
Ibid., p. 226.
2 Carter, Life and Letters, pp. 108-109.
3 Ibid., p. 109.
* Ibid.
^ Lippincott's Magazine, ix, 568 (1872).
^Parliamentary Report, vii, p. 192 (1870).
SISTERHOODS
141
vows; that any Sister is at liberty to leave the institution
at any time." ^ But he does not know of any instance of
a withdrawal. The best explanation of these conflicting
testimonies seems to be that while no vows were required,
their equivalent was really understood. This conception of
a perpetual state equivalent to a life under vows, is implied
in the Rules as quoted by Freeman: "The Sisterhood is
formed without vows, for the observance of the rules of
poverty, chastity and obedience, in which state of life the
Sisters ofifer themselves perpetually to God to live alone for
his glory, in the love of Christ, and to serve him in the
persons of his poor and suffering ones." ^ Whether vows
were actually taken, there is no doubt that, in Carter's
mind,'^ the Sister made her profession for life. The ques-
tion of vows, therefore, seemed to him more or less super-
fluous. In later years he wrote :
Much has been said of late, and much that I can not but
deem needlessly alarming and unreasonable, on the vexed
question of vows. At the late Reading Congress, at the end
of the morning's debate on the comparative merits of the Sis-
terhood and Deaconess principles, it was generally felt that
they agreed in representing the self-devotion intended in either
state as life-long. And a vow is but the outward expression
of a life-long devotion. It simply implies a vocation of God,
in which one so called should abide with Him to the end.^
The organization of this Sisterhood was regarded as
more or less a model for Anglican conventual institutions.^
^Ibid., p. 194. ^ Ibid., p. 224.
^ "It has always been the feeling of the Sisters that their purpose and
conviction is a life-long dedication of themselves. . . . They assume it
as a preliminary; that if thought worthy to be a Sister at all, it must
be for life." Letter of Carter, Jan. 2, 1863, in Carter, Life and Letters,
p. 104.
* Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell, Introd., pp. 12-13.
^Wister, Lippincotfs Magazine, ix, 565 (1872).
142
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Some of its features are therefore worthy of notice. There
were two orders of Sisters — the first order was divided
into two classes. The postulancy lasted six months; the
noviciate, two years for the first class and four years for
the second class, after which the member was in full fellow-
ship and was called a "confirmed Sister." ^ The second
order consisted of those who do not live entirely in the com-
munity. While there, they conformed to all the rules;
while at home, they conformed their dress and mode of life
to their special profession.^ There were also Sisters As-
sociate, smgle women not in the community, who devoted
themselves to live by the same rule so far as possible.
There were other Associates, ladies in their own homes
aiding by prayers and funds. Another feature was the
entrance requirements. Sisters could not join until 30
years of age without the consent of their parents. In 1870
Freeman testified : "There are old and young, but most
of the old ones have been there a good many years." ^
Sisters were required to be members of the Church of
England.* At time of Profession, the members made
known their adherence by declaration and by signature.^
As in other Anglican Sisterhoods, care was taken to
keep in harmony with the Church. The Bishop of Oxford
was Visitor and approved the rules." If the bishop should
refuse at any time, some other Visitor was to be appointed.
The government of the Sisterhood was kept separate from
that of the House of Mercy and under a different board of
trustees. The trustees of the former were the Warden, the
1 Ihid. p. 567. Cf. Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, 189.
2 Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, 189.
^Ibid., p. 192.
* Wister, in Lippincott's Magasine, ix, 568.
s Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, 193.
6 Ibid., p. 189.
SISTERHOODS
143
Superior and the Treasurer.^ The first Warden was T.
T. Carter, and the sub-deacon in 1870 was the Rev. William
Henry Hutchings, his biographer.^
The devotional life of the Sisters was carefully superin-
tended by the Warden. Accordingly to Rule 33, the re-
ligious books and habits of devotion were to be such only
as prescribed by him.^ Holy Communion was celebrated
daily.* The Sisterhood performed no religious offices in
connection with the patients in the hospital. The Warden
attended to these religious duties. The Sisters worked
among the poor as religious people under the direction of
the clergy of the parish. They visited people of every
faith.^ Sisters attended usually the private chapel which
Freeman thought had not been consecrated legally."
The growth of the Sisterhood has been a good proof of
its splendid organization. In 1870 the attorney for the
Society said there were about 80 Sisters, of whom about
20 lived in the House of Mercy at Clewer.'' Branch houses
have been established in many cities throughout England, in
the United States and elsewhere.® Harriet Monsell re-
mained as Superior until 1876 and Carter as Warden until
1902. To the ideals and the work of these two persons,
therefore, the Sisterhood is indebted for its character and
its development. Judged by its growth and social work, it
is perhaps deserving of Sarah B. Wister's comment:
"Among the numerous communities, that of Clewer is uni-
versally spoken of as the most successful example of an
Anglican Sisterhood; great praise is given to its hospitals
1 Ibid., p. 190. = Ibid., p. 191.
2 Ibid., p. 193. 8 Ibid., p. 192.
^Ibid., p. 227. ''Ibid., p. 189.
* Rule 29. Ibid., p. 227.
8 Carter, Life of Harriet Monsell, pp. 124-127. Cf. Rich, L. C, in
The Churchman, July 6, 1907 ; cf. Carter, Life and Letters, pp. 85-98.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
and the nursing of its Sisters, even by those who do not
think well of the mode of life." ^
SEC. V. ST. Margaret's sisterhood, east grinstead
One other Sisterhood will be treated here because it was
called forth by a new type of social work. Pusey at Park
Village began with the pretense at least of general slum
work ; Miss Sellon at Devonport, with the education of the
poor; and Carter at Clewer, with the redemption of the
prostitutes. Another specialized social work, which has
been perhaps more distinctively the Sisters' field, was that
of nursing. It was the need of nurses that gave John Mason
Neale the plan of his Sisterhood. On Feb. i, 1855, he
wrote :
You know that five or six years ago, it was a favorite spec-
ulation of mine, how it would be possible even to get at the
scattered collection of houses in our great Sussex parishes, so
as positively to evangelize them as you might do a heathen
country. Some three or four years ago Fowler had an idea
that by nurses, trained both physically and religiously, some-
thing might be done. . . . The idea remained in my mind, and
I worked it out by degrees.^
It must not be supposed, however, that Neale's first idea
of a conventual order began in 1850, or that it was inspired
wholly by the need of better nursing. As in the case of
Carter, the social work was the occasion, rather than the
cause, of the Sisterhood. In 1843, Neale had written Ayton
Priory, one of the strongest arguments in behalf of monas-
tic revival produced by the whole Tractarian party. He
openly stated his purpose :
^ Lippincott's Magazine, ix, 565.
^Letters of John Mason Neale. Ed. by His Daughter (London,
1910), p. 233.
SISTERHOODS
145
There is, perhaps, hardly any subject which has recently occu-
pied a larger share of the attention of the Churchmen than
the possibility and expediency of a revival of the Monastick
System. . . . The following tale is intended, as well to set
forth the advantages, and all but necessity, of the reintroduc-
tion of monasteries, as to suggest certain practical details
connected with their establishment and subsequent working.^
He is familiar with the testimony of the early church and
of the seventeenth century divines in their favor.
His presentation of the advantages of a monastic revival
is so strong and comprehensive that it should be quoted
here. The arguments are:
That monasteries have from the earliest times existed in every
branch of the church ; that the blessing of the intercessory
prayer constantly made in them is incalculable ; that the church
system, involving nightly, as well as daily, supplication, can
nowhere else be fully acted out ; that a body of men, deeply
read in ecclesiastical history and controversy and surrounded
by an atmosphere of church feeling, would be fostered in them,
which would be ready to oppose any new attack of heresy
or infidelity ; that colleges can not in this respect possess the
same advantages ; that self-discipline could in religious houses
be practiced more regularly, and closer communion with God
be more attainable ; that they would be invaluable as abodes
for young men between their leaving the university and en-
tering on the cure of souls, as supplying a course of training,
intellectual, moral and religious ; that aged priests might be
thus provided with an asylum, who now though physically un-
equal to their duty, must either retain it or be reduced to pov-
erty ; that important ecclesiastical works might here be under-
taken with the advantage of uninterrupted opportunities and
leisure, hallowed by religion and a division of labor; that an
asylum would be furnished for such as were without funds, or
who, in the decline of life, wished to devote all their time and
1 Neale, Ayton Priory (London, 1843), Preface, p. ii.
146
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
thoughts to the preparation for their approaching change;
that those who are immersed in business or otherwise entan-
gled in worldly pursuits, might here, in such seasons as Lent
or Advent, find a place of salutary retirement; that the diminu-
tion of personal and other expenses on the part of the inmates
would set free a large portion of wealth for the service of
God ; that the poor might be tended in them, both spiritually
and corporeally.^
Neale was also interested in the chief handmaiden of
monasticism, virginity. In his Annals of the Virgin Saints,^
he makes it clear that he regards virginity as a "higher and
holier state." He writes : "And there is another class —
and it is for them that I write — whom parity of sex, of age
and of circumstance, will cause to direct their thoughts to
those Flowers of Purity, Celestial Gems, Brides of the Im-
maculate Lamb, the Virgin Saints." ^ So far did Neale
advance toward the Roman position in matters of ritual,
that the Bishop of Chichester inhibited him in 1846.*
Whatever denial may be made of his Roman tendencies,
his admiration for Roman monasteries is clear. Writing
to his wife in 1849 from the monastery of La Grande
Chartreuse, Dauphine, he says : "It seems to me like a
dream that I am really in this place, which I have so long
thought of, and so much wished to see. It surpasses all my
expectations in every way." ^
From his own writings it may be concluded that Neale,
like the Tractarians, desired monastic orders of both sexes,
but adapting himself to the social conditions, chose the one
more likely to win popular support, vis, the Sisterhood. A
1 Ibid., Preface, pp. 6-8.
2 London, 1846 ; Preface, pp. 24-26.
8 Ibid., p. 24.
* Letters of John Mason Neale, p. gg.
^Ibid., p. 118.
SISTERHOODS
man's motives however can not be exactly determined.
Hence Miss Towle may be equally correct in saying:
"Neale was versed in the chronicles of the monastic orders
and the lives of the Saints, but at this moment (c. 1854)
he was inspired not so much by the desire to restore the con-
ventual discipline as by an impulse of pity to raise the fallen,
convert the unbelieving, and minister to the sick." ^ With-
out passing further opinion on Neale's motives, it may be
said that he desired monasteries on principle and he saw the
suffering of the poor around him ; and from these two ideas
he evolved a nursing Sisterhood. As he beheld the misery
of the rural population around East Grinstead, he remem-
bered the labors of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Francis de
Sales and St. Vincent de Paul, and the parochial machinery
seemed inadequate.^
Neale had cherished his friend Fowler's idea of a body
of nurses which had been laid before him about 185 1 or
1852, but which had produced no practical results.^ After
this Neale had seen the good done by a partially trained
nurse at Horley. He happened to know three women who
were anxious and able to join a Sisterhood, but did not
know which one to join.* These appeared to him a nucleus,
if he could secure cooperation. He wrote to the most
favorable of his friends, Fowler, Maberly, Wheeler,
Weguelin, Carnegie, Hunt, Gream, Antrobus, et al. and
found them all enthusiastic. Neale was opposed to the
pseudo-asceticism of the Devonport Sisterhood, but he
visited the Clewer institution twice and received much
counsel and help from the Superior. Fortunately just at
this time Neale found a suitable Superior for his future
* Towle, John Mason Neale, A Memoir (London, 1906), p. 234.
' Ibid., pp. 232-233.
^Letters of John Mason Neale, p. 233 et seq.
* Ibid.
148
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Sisterhood — Miss Gream, a woman of forty-five, accus-
tomed all her life to parish work. His plan was fast taking
form. He writes :
With the help of some of our friends I drew up some rules,
based on those of Clewer, so far as the great difiference of de-
sign would permit. The scheme then resolved itself into this:
to have a central house — at present somewhere — hereafter,
when we get a new Bishop, connected (if it can be so) with this
Chapel, in which we may have a community of trained Sisters,
ready to be sent out at the Superior's discretion gratuitously to
any Parish Priest within a circuit of (say) twenty-five miles,
that may need their services in nursing any of his people ; he
to be responsible, so far as may be, for their management,
safety, etc., while they are in his parish.^
The way for Neale's further progress was made easier by
the work of Florence Nightingale. Her work in the
Crimea silenced those who contended that delicately nurtured
women were incapable of bearing physical hardships and
that voluntary work had not a value of its own.^ When
Neale began to solicit funds his success exceeded his ex-
pectations. His next step was to find a suitable hospital
in which to train the Sisters as nurses. Westminster Hos-
pital opened its doors to receive them. By this time Neale
had a prospect of seven or eight nurses.^ He sent out a
statement of his scheme, without using the name of Sister-
hood, to the 2IO parishes in his district. By these steps
was laid the foundation of the St. Margaret's Sisterhood
and in June, 1856 nine Sisters took up their abode in their
first Sisterhood house at East Grinstead.'*
1 Ibid., p. 234.
Ibid., p. 23s; cf. Towle, John Mason Ncalc, p. 234.
3LeUer of Feb. i, 1855, in Letters of John Mason Neale, p. 235.
* Towle, op. cit., p. 242.
SISTERHOODS
149
Before tracing the progress of the Sisterhood, mention
should be made of the advisers and supporters of Neale.
They reveal the temper of the times. Lord Salisbury
wrote him : "A scheme for organizing a Society of Nursing
Sisters, under proper regulations would undoubtedly be one
in which I should be most happy to join, and I should be
really glad to assist such an establishment as far as lies in
my power." ^ But he feared it would lead to another at-
tack on Sackville College.^ The Mother Superior of Clewer
approved and advised. R. M. Benson, later Superior of the
Cowley Fathers, was communicated with and gave a long
letter of advice and approbation. William J. E. Bennett, a
leader of the Ritualists, said he needed the Sisters in his
parish, but the name "Sister" would set the town ablaze.*
The question of the Sisterhood was brought up at the meet-
ing of the Rural Deans of Chichester in 1855.* There was
some little disputation about it. The Archdeacon, favored
the plan, and the Bishop said that when the rules came be-
fore him he would give all the help he could. The Balcome
and Frant Deaneries later pronounced in favor of the plan.
Thus while the approval was far from unanimous,^ there
seems to have been no such bitter opposition as in the case
of Miss Sellon. England was becoming accustomed to the
idea of Sisterhoods, and Florence Nightingale had im-
mortalized the particular form of service which Neale was
to undertake.
1 Ibid., pp. 236-237.
2 Sackville College, of which Neale was Warden, had been attacked
by mobs on account of Neale's supposed Roman Catholic tendencies.
3 Ibid., p. 237.
* Letters of John Mason Neale, p. 239.
= The Vicar of East Grinstead abhorred the Sisters. "The first case
of infectious fever," he said, "which I have I will ask them to under-
take it, and then perhaps we shall get rid of them." (Ibid., p. 279.)
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
As to the Rule of the Sisterhood, Neale said he had
made an adaptation of Carter's.^ Miss Towle throws a
Httle additional light on the matter. She says that he had
founded his Rule upon that of the Visitation of St. Francis
de Sales before St. Francis converted his community into a
cloistered order; but it had its origin in the principles
governing the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.^ Neale's ad-
miration for, and visit to, the Roman convents on the Con-
tinent made him more imitative of Roman Catholic orders
than was Carter. Describing a Convent of the Sisters of
Charity he said that it reminded him of his own Sister-
hood.*
The requirements for admission, as they existed in 1907,
are as follows :
No one is admitted as a Sister unless in communion with the
Church of England, nor if under the age of 25, without the
written consent of her parents. Before one who fulfills these
conditions can become a Postulant she must remain some time
in the House as a visitor. She may then be admitted as a
Postulant and must remain in that state for six months. The
Postulant who appears satisfactory may then, if she wishes to
persevere, be proposed for election as a Novice, and if she
has in her favor a majority of the votes of the Professed Sis-
ters she enters the Noviciate, which lasts at least two years
for a Choir Novice and four years for a Lay Novice. A
Novice requires two-thirds of the votes of the Sisters who
have themselves been professed two years in order to be ad-
mitted to Profession. The final vows are taken for life.*
The last statement is significant, for vows are the chief
matter of dispute in the Sisterhood question.
i/6tU, p. 234.
2 Towle, John Mason Ncalc, p. 234.
3 Letters of John Mason Neale, p. 289.
< Hutton, Chaplain of St. Margaret's Sisterhood, in Pax, Dec, 1907,
p. 332.
SISTERHOODS Igl
Of the daily routine of services in the Mother House
Neale gives an account. He writes in 1856 :
I go in at 7, say their Litany for them, and then celebrate. . . .
Tierce, Sexts and Nones they generally say for themselves ;
but on Wednesdays and Fridays I say Sexts for them, and
they have a Sermonet directly after. (They always stay in the
Oratory from 12 to I.) Directly after our prayers I read
evening prayers for tTiem ; and then I take them all together in
the common room as a class, to get them up in catechising.
That takes till about 7:15. At 9:45 I say Compline for them;
and that is the day's routine.^
Neale was quite systematic in the practice of receiving
confessions.^
The novel feature of Neal's organization was that the
Sisters lived outside the House, during periods of their
nursing work. Applications for assistance were made to
the Superior, who could accept or decline. The applicant
was required to state: (i) For what purpose the Sister
was needed; (2) How long it is probable she may be re-
quired; (3) Where it is intended she shall lodge, and what
accommodations will be provided for her.^ The applicant
was held responsible for the Sister's safety and her general
superintendence. The Sister went into a home, nursed,
cooked, mended clothes, and took care of the children.
While working in a parish, she often lived at the clergyman's
house and dined at his table, a custom which shocked the
Clewer Sisters.* Neale's Sisterhood was thus more active
and less "regular" than the others noted hitherto.
As in the case of the other leading Sisterhoods, the
growth of St. Margaret's was remarkable. The work of
1 Letters, pp. 274-275.
2 Ibid., pp. 244-249.
^ Kalendar of the English Church for 1867 (London, 1868), p. 169.
* Letters, p. 264.
152 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
teaching was combined with that of nursing, and several
schools were opened. Branch Houses were established
throughout England. Plans were made for a branch in
Hawaii, but this mission was finally undertaken by Miss
Sellon's Sisterhood.^
SEC. VI. A VIEW OF THE SISTERHOOD MOVEMENT IN GENERAL
Some may think that too much space has been given to
Sisterhoods in this treatise, inasmuch as they seem less
purely monastic than the orders of men. It is true that
they present a more varied and less "regular" appearance
than the Brotherhoods. This however is not because they
are less like the Roman Catholic orders, but because they
are more modern in their monastic patterns. Their im-
mediate models for the most part are those of the seven-
teenth to the nineteenth centuries abroad,^ while the Brother-
hoods go back to the Benedictine, Franciscan, and other
types of that period.
In general there may be said to have been three lines of
desire for the religious employment of women at first.
"Looking back as our memory serves us, we see three tones
of feeling on the subject combining about thirty years ago.
The Catholic feeling, longing for the revival of religious
orders in the abstract, and making penitentiary work, edu-
cation or nursing their raison d'etre; of which Clewer, All
Saints', East Grinstead, and Wantage, with many lesser
Sisterhoods are visible effects." ^ Secondly, was the desire
to imitate Fliedner,* and from this came the deaconess insti-
tutions. Thirdly, there was the feeling that nursing could
1 Ibid., p. 342.
- Frere, English Church Ways (Milwaukee, 1914), p. 86. Cf. Shipley,
The Church and the World, p. 189 (London, 1867).
^Church Quarterly Review, x. 394 (July, 1880).
* Theodor Fliedner in 1837 founded the first German Protestant estab-
lishment for deaconesses at Kaiserswerth.
SISTERHOODS
be better done by highly trained reHgious women, as e. g. at
St. John's House/
Likewise a cross-section of the public attitude in 1850 is
given by a contemporary. "Many are watching with deep
interest the growth of these Institutions, still in their infancy
amongst us. Some with unbounded confidence in their suc-
cess ; others with a cautious and a misgiving eye ; some with
enthusiastic admiration for the system, others with admira-
tion for the self-devoted spirit, but disapproval of this form
of its manifestation." "
While supporters were gained rapidly, the opposition was
not soon silenced. Petitions were sent to Queen Victoria,
asking her to warn the clergy against countenancing these
institutions.^ A bill for the inspection of nunneries was in-
troduced in 1853* and this agitation was continued for
some time. The writings of ex-Sisters kept up the ani-
mosity of many.'^ The ritualistic services in the Sisterhood
chapels and the publication of books on confession, the
Real Presence etc. were the occasions of bitter attacks.''
The efficiency of their social work was compared with that
of the deaconesses, some maintaining its superiority, others
its inferiority.' The secession of Sisters to Rome aroused
suspicion. "The Sisterhood which was especially under
Dr. Pusey's guidance has given no less than 20 of its mem-
bers to the Church of Rome. . . . What immense influence
they are exerting in a quiet way, it is not easy to overesti-
1 Ibid.
^Sisters of Mercy in the Church of England (London, 1850), p. 4.
8 Seymour, Convents or Nunneries (Bath, 1852), p. 60.
* Guardian, June 8, 1853.
= Walsh, Secret History of the Oxford Movement (London, 1899),
p. 186.
" Ibid., pp. 199-200.
"Shipley, The Church and the World, 1867, pp. 173-174; cf. Quar-
terly Review, cviii, 378; Eraser's Magazine, Ixxxiv, 639 (1871).
154
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
mate." ^ The reports of austerities/ of private burial
grounds within the convents,^ of the securing of property,*
of superstitious customs,^ and of the difficulty in leaving
Sisterhoods " all tended to inflame the public mind against
the communities.
Yet in spite of the bitter attacks, these communities have
grown at a remarkable rate. Some prominent church
authorities have estimated that there are twice as many
Sisters in Anglican Religious Orders to-day as there were
before the suppression under Henry VIII.''
In the beginning of this chapter it was seen that the
Sisterhoods were started earlier than the Brotherhoods be-
cause of their broader basis in authority and their wider
social appeal. It was due to this wide social appeal that
they continued to grow so rapidly. For instance, from
the time of Southey and Gooch, the cry for better nursing
was never silenced. The church leaders recognized the
1 Everard, Danger and Duty (London, 1890), p. 11.
2 Walsh, op. cit., pp. 39-41.
^Ibid., p. 192.
*Ibid., p. 176.
^ Ibid., p. 197.
« Ibid., p. 171 ; cf. Goodman, Sisterhoods in the Church of England,
P- 113-
^ Weller, Religious Orders in the Anglican Communion (Milwau-
kee, 1909), pp. 37-38. The Dictionary of English Church History, ed.
S. L. Ollard, p. 503, estimates the number at time of suppression at 745
and in 1909 about 1300. Bishop C. C. Grafton gave 5000 as the present
number of Sisters. Works (New York, 1914), v, 306.
For list of the orders, their origins, houses, and works, vide Kelway,
The Story of the Catholic Revival (London, 1914), p. 124; Weller,
Religious Orders, etc., Appendix, pp. 37-38 ; Official Year Book of the
Church of England (London, 1916) ; also Appendix v.
For earlier accounts, which furnish interesting comparisons, vide
Shipley, The Church and the World, 1867, pp. 191-194.
Trench, English Sisterhoods in the Nineteenth Century, xvi, 339
(Aug., 1884).
SISTERHOODS 1 55
beneficial labors of the Sisters of Charity on the Continent.^
The work of Miss Nightingale not only helped Neale's
Sisterhood as we have seen but the fact that she chose eight
Anglican Sisters for her first party ^ and paid a glowing
tribute to their effectiveness ^ served to win popular approval
throughout England. The praise bestowed upon the Sisters
as nurses by medical men and the manifest improvement
accomplished helped to give them a professional stand-
ing.*
In addition to the special appeal for better nursing the
Sisterhood work had a vital connection with a larger move-
ment for the social and industrial recognition of women.
The first two decades of the Sisterhood growth were the
period of John Stuart Mill, Mrs. Anna Jameson and other
prominent advocates of woman's emancipation. A con-
temporary writes that the two chief fears in the minds of
the Sisterhood's opponents were those of encouraging
"woman's rights" and Romish nunneries.^ The advocates
of Sisterhoods and Deaconess institutions lay great stress
on the need of finding suitable employment for the single
women and those forced to self-support." The subject
elicited numerous articles in the current literature of the
time, lengthy discussions in the Convocations, and even a
speech by the Prince Consort.' According to the census
of 1851, there were more than 500,000 surplus women in
^Guardian, iii, 467 (July 19, 1848).
2 Dock, History of Nursing, ii, 114 et seq.
3 Meadows, in Shipley, The Church and the World, 1866, p. 137.
* Meadows, ibid.; cf. also Jenner, the Physician at University Col-
lege Hospital, in Shipley, The Church anr the World, 1867, p. 171.
5 Stevenson, Praying and Working (New York, 1863), p. 244.
^Howson, Deaconesses (London, 1862), Preface. Cf. Jameson, Sis-
ters of Charity and the Communion of Labor, 2nd ed. (Boston, 1857).
' Howson, op. cit.. Preface ; cf. Ludlow, Woman's Work in the
Church, i866.
156
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the United Kingdom.^ In the census of 1861, there were
reported to be 573,530 more women than men.^ In 1851,
it was estimated that one half of the 6,000,000 adult women
labored for their support and that about 2,000,000 were un-
married.^ However unreliable these figures may be, the
problem appeared to be a pressing one, and the Sisterhoods,
by promising a partial solution made a wide social appeal.*
Other reasons given for the rapid growth of conventual
communities of women in comparison with those of men
are: (i) The very opposition to, and the obscurity of,
the work attracted certain devoted people; (2) Men were
finding an outlet for their ascetic desires on the mission
field; and (3) Families could dedicate a daughter to the
religious life more easily than a son.^
With the broad social appeal, linked to the religious inter-
est in the minds of the promoters, the Sisterhoods have be-
come a great factor in the history of the English Church
during the last century. The following statement is not
that of a Sister but one for which the present Archbishop
of Canterbury is responsible : "When the time hereafter
comes for estimating and comparing the various church
movements of this century in England, it is probable that
the first place as regards utility and strength will be assigned
to the revival of Sisterhood life as an active constituent in
the church's work." *
1 Jameson, op. cit., p. 80.
2 Howson, op. cit., p. 11.
3 Ibid., p. 9.
* Frascr's Magazine, Ixxxiv, 638 (1871).
^ Woodhouse, Monasticism, Ancient and Modern (London, 1896),
pp. 309-311. Cf. Benson, in The Literary Churchman, April 5, 1889.
" Davidson and Benham, Life of Archibald Campbell Tait, 2 vols.
{London, 1891), i, 449. Cf. Carter, Life and Letters, Preface, p. 5.
CHAPTER VI
Communities of Men
SEC. I. Newman's retreat at littlemore
In Chapter IV we traced the agitation of the Tractarian
leaders for the revival of male monastic orders. It was
seen that before 1845 these rather than the Sisterhoods
were emphasized; and in fact Newman actually put his
ideas into practice. Although this attempt was soon cut
short by the secession of the members to the Roman faith,
a brief account of it forms a fitting introduction to a
chapter on the Anglican monasteries.
On May 28, 1840 Newman wrote to Mrs. J. Mozley:
"We have bought nine or ten acres of ground at Littlemore,
and so be it in due time, shall erect a monastic house upon
it." ^ Eight days before he had written in similar vein
to the Rev. Thomas Mozley : "We have bought nine acres
and want to erect a 'fioyi].' Give me some hint about
building. . . . The cells to be added as required, being
9 or ID ft. high." ^ Again on June loth, Newman wrote
to Mozley: "I have got another idea. It is to have the
cells upon a cloister, as at Magdalen. ... It would have
a fireplace only in the kitchen and refectory." ^
^Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman during His Life in
the English Church, ed. by Anne Mozley, 2 vols. (London, 1891), ii,
305.
^ Ibid., p. 304
3 Ibid.
158
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
This building was not actually started until February,
1842. Newman improved a disused range of stables, form-
ing a library, some cells, i. e. studies, and a cloister/ One
requirement made by Newman was that he should be able to
see the ruins of the Mynchery convent. Frederick Oakeley,
a friend of Newman, said the building was known as the
"Littlemore Monastery," and "the fact is generally known
that the life at Littlemore was founded upon the rule of the
strictest Religious Orders." ^ The institution aroused much
curiosity, and many people came to visit and to criticise.^
Their criticisms caused the Bishop of Oxford to write a
letter of inquiry, April 12, 1842. In reply Newman denied
that he was building a monastery. His letter is interesting
in view of his previous words to Mrs. Mozley :
For many years, at least thirteen, I have wished to give myself
to a life of greater religious regularity than I have hitherto
led ; . . . The resolution has been taken with reference to my-
self alone. ... In pursuing it I am thinking of myself alone,
not aiming at any ecclesiastical or external effects. At the
same time it would be a great comfort to me to know that God
had put it into the hearts of others to pursue their personal
edification in the same way. . . . Your Lordship will allow
me to add my firm conviction that such religious resolutions
are most necessary for keeping a certain class of minds firm in
their allegiance to our church. . . . Your Lordship will per-
ceive from what I have said that no monastery is in process of
erection, there is no chapel, no refectory, hardly a dining room
or parlor. "The cloisters" are my shed connecting the cot-
tages. I do not understand what "cells or dormitories" mean.*
1 Mozley, Thomas, Reminiscences Chiefly of Oriel College and the
Oxford Movement, 2 vols., 2nd ed. (London, 1882), ii, 213-214.
^Historical Notes of the Tractarian Movement, 1865, pp. 93-94;
quoted in Walsh, Secret History of the Oxford Movement, p. 21.
3 Mozley, op. cit., p. 215.
* Letters and Correspondence of J. H. Newman, ii, 393-394-
COMMUNITIES OF MEN 159
It is difficult to understand how Newman could write
such a denial after what he had said to others.^ Lockhart,
one of the members of the community, wrote :
It was a kind of monastic life of retirement, prayer and study.
We had a sincere desire to remain in the Church of England
if we could be satisfied that in so doing we were members of
the world-wide visible communion of Christianity which was
of apostolic origin. . . . We rose at midnight to recite the
Breviary Office. . . . We fasted according to the practice
recommended in Holy Scriptures and practices in the most
austere Religious Orders of Eastern and Western Christen-
dom.^
According to a second writer,^ the festivals and offices of
the Roman liturgy were observed. The Oratory had no
altar; on the table between two candlesticks was placed a
large crucifix. The rising at midnight to recite the
Breviary was changed to 6 A. M. One slight change was
made in the Breviary to accommodate it to the Thirty-nine
Articles, viz. in the invocation of saints. The meditation
and examination were made each day, the confession every
week, and the communion frequently. Outside of the
prayers and services each one read in his study ; and reading
was held during meals.
A glimpse of the daily routine is given by Mark Pattison
1 C/. also his letter to Pusey Mar. 17, 1840: "Since I have been up
here an idea has revived in my mind, of which we have before now
talked, viz., of building a Monastic House in the place and coming up
to live in it myself." Liddon, Life of Pusey, ii, 135; cf. also Letter to
James Hope-Scott, Jan. 3, 1842, in Ormsby, Memoir of James Robert
Hope-Scott of Abbotsford, 2 vols. (London, 1884), ii, 6.
2 Biography of Father Lockhart, p. 35 ; quoted in Walsh, op. cit., p. 26.
3 Thureau-Dangin, The English Catholic Revival in the Nineteenth
Century, revised and re-ed. by Wilfrid Wilberforce (London, 1914), i,
255 et seq.
l6o THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
who spent two weeks at Littlemore in 1843. "Oct. ist, Sun-
day— St. John called me at 5 :30, and at 6 went to Matins,
which with Lauds and Prime take about an hour and a
half; afterwards returned to my room and prayed with
some ef¥ect, I think. Tierce at 9, and at 11 church com-
munion. . . . Thirty-seven communicants. Returned and
had breakfast. Had some discomfort at waiting for food
so long. . . . Walked up and down with St. John in the
garden; Newman afterwards joined us. ... At 3 to
church; then Nones. . . . Vespers at 8. Compline at 9.
. . . Went to bed at 10." ^
Thus by whatever name the institution was called the
life was practically monastic. The only element lacking
was that of vows, for of these no proof is found. Hence
Newman could perhaps excuse himself from the monastic
charge by maintaining that it was only a retreat. That it
was intended to serve as a retreat for clergy is clear. On
Mar. 7, 1843 Newman wrote: "All our beds have been
full for months, and I think we must cut our sets of rooms
into two to admit more inmates." ^ But there seems to
have been a permanent circle of Newman's friends who re-
mained, and the permanence of their state was interrupted
only by their secession to Rome following Newman's.^
The unfortunate outcome of the attempt at Littlemore un-
doubtedly proved a hindrance to the monastic movement
among Anglican men.*
1 Pattison, Memoirs (London, 1885), pp. 190-191.
'Letters and Correspondence, ii, 409.
3 Walsh, op. cit., p. 27.
■* When Faber was converted to Romanism he had gathered around
him a group of young men at Elton Rectory. With these he had in-
tended to found a community. Their secession added another handicap
to the Brotherhood movement of the Anglican Church. Parliamentary
Report, 1870, vii. Testimony of Rev. W. T. Gordon, p. 126.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
i6i
SEC. II. THE REVIVED AGITATION FOR BROTHERHOODS
For almost two decades after Newman left Littlemore
for Rome, the Church of England heard little of monas-
teries. The sad memory of that event and the bright
promises of the Sisterhood movement served to turn atten-
tion elsewhere.^ In the sixties, however, the Sisterhoods
being firmly established, the minds of the High Church
wing were turned again toward monastic orders of men.
The arguments of Froude, Newman, Neale and other ad-
vocates of earlier years were echoed in substance if not in
form ; and to these some new reasons were added.
A modern Anglican monk has very frankly written:
"The real reason for the restoration of the Religious life is
that it represents one aspect of the Christian ideal without
which the Gospel is misrepresented. But there are lower,
utilitarian motives which we must notice." ^ It was these
utilitarian motives which were chiefly emphasized in the
sixties. For example, clerical celibacy was praised not so
much for its intrinsic worth as for its aid to efficiency. It
1 In this period three men made approaches to monastic institutions.
"In 1849 George R. Prynne endeavored to estabhsh a brotherhood at St.
Peter's Plymouth. In May, 1855, Edward Steere began a community
for men, the Brotherhood of St. James, at Tamworth, but the experi-
ment seems to have failed within a year." Ollard, in Dictionary of
English Church History (London, 1912), pp. 501-502.
Charles Lowder, leader of the St. George's Mission in London, wrote
to his father in 1856: "My desire is to make it a thoroughly Catholic
work, a life of poverty and self-denial, and dedication to God's service,
and if it may be, the revival of a really Religious Order for mission-
ary workmen trained in holy living for the work of winning souls.
Dr. Pusey and others wish me to go." Trench, Charles Lowder, A
Biography (London, 1885), p. 86. To this end he studied the "Life of
St. Vincent de Paul," and actually organized his curates in a Parochial
Clergy House. But a regular monastic order was never worked out.
In February, 1868, three of his four curates were received into the
Roman faith. Ibid., p. 232.
2 Bull, The Revival of the Religious Life (New York, 1914), p. 75.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
was shown that the single priest is more easily moved from
place to place ; he has no household worries to distract him ;
he has no temptation to accumulate wealth; he is not afraid
to enter diseased homes; he would have no interests but
those of the Church : and with all these advantages, he
would be less expensive to the Church.^
A second outstanding argument for religious orders was
the lack of clergy. The advocates held that the candidates
are decreasing, and it is vain to look for this clerical work
to be done by the classes from which the clergy are drawn.^
There are many available men in the lower classes anxious
for religous work. They could be secured and trained for
work in the slums and missions if monasteries were es-
tablished.* The parish clergy, overworked and too few, can
not reach the masses.* The success of the Roman Church
in reaching these people is due to its friars, who can preach,
conduct "missions" and retreats.^ These friars could fur-
nish a different type of religious service for the masses
who are not attracted by the formality of the churches.
They would be valuable as Confessors.®
Another reason for monastic orders was the desire for
the religious life among the curates. They feel the lone-
liness of their work and the need of cloisters. The taking
of these parochial men into the religious life will be balanced
by men who find themselves unfitted for celibacy and the
"regular" life, and who will therefore come into the secular
1 Vaux, "Clerical Celibacy," in Shipley, The Church and the World
(London, 1866), p. 171 et seq.
2 Baring-Gould, "On the Revival of Religious Confraternities," in
Shipley, op. cit., p. 96.
3 Ibid., p. 106.
* Ibid., p. 93.
^ Ibid., p. 97 el seq.; cf. Vaux, "Missions and Preaching Orders," in
Shipley, op. cit., pp. 180-183.
6 Vaux, op. cit., p. 184.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
163
work. These will be at liberty to depart.^ Other argu-
ments cited were: (i) The value of monks in foreign
missions, as shown by the Roman Church;^ (2) Their
useiulness m conducting "Retreats" and revivals;" (^3)
They would provide places of safety for the weakly in mind
or body, the aged, the drunkard, etc. ; * (4) They would
make the cathedral establishments productive of something
useful; ® (5) Religious orders would serve to counteract the
desire for ecclesiastical preferment;* (6) They would check
the mercenary and worldly spirit of the age;^ (7) By
teaching the world true poverty, these orders would help to
solve the social and industrial problems;® (8) There is a
great need of specialists and teachers superior to those
among whom they work, and these monastics would be
superior in experience, spiritual attainments and the con-
quest of the lower nature."
With this emphasis on utilitarian arguments, it was na-
tural that the orders suggested would be active rather than
contemplative.^" One of the spokesmen for monasticism
said that the Carthusian type was too contemplative, the
Cistercian too agricultural, and the Dominican too severe;
even the Franciscan would need modification ; but "Congre-
gations, like the Passionists, Redemptorists or Oblates,
would raise no prejudices, the vows being simple and the
dress not peculiar." Another leader suggests orders like
I Baring-Gould, op. cit., pp. 106-107.
Ibid., p. 109.
^ Ibid., pp. iio-iii.
* Woodhouse, Monasticism, p. 353.
^Ibid., p. 361.
p. 360.
7 Ibid., p. 349- Cf. Bull, op. cit., p. 68.
8 "G. C.," in Cowley Evangelist (1909-1910), pp. 1-7.
8 Woodhouse, op. cit., p. 347.
^0 Baring-Gould, ibid., p. 109.
II Ibid., p. 109.
164
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the Franciscans or S. Vincent de Paul.^ With these argu-
ments and these ideals, it will be interesting to see what
orders actually came to be established.
SEC. III. FATHER IGNATIUS AND THE ORDER OF ST. BENEDICT
Joseph Leycester Lyne was ordained deacon on Dec. 23,
i860, the Bishop of Exeter imposing a condition that he
should not preach in his diocese for three years because of
his eccentricity and impatience of discipline.^ George R.
Prynne of¥ered him a curacy at St. Mary's, Plymouth. In
this work he showed a very devotional spirit. Pryme,
writing to Lyne's mother, said: "He was animated by a
very true spirit of devotion in carrying out such work as
was assigned to him; and his earnest and loving character
largely won the affections of those among whom he
ministered." *
At Plymouth Lyne formed two friendships which were
very important in his future career. These two friends
were Pusey and Miss Sellon. According to his biographer,
Mme. Bertouch, these two were "the foster-parents of the
monk's vocation, or at any rate of its consummation." *
1 Vaux, op. cit., p. 152 et seq.
Thirty years later a friend of monasticism could write that many
have been converted to the active orders but not to the contemplative.
Yet he thinks these furnish the very salt of the earth and of the Church,
saving them from corruption. Their feasibility in the nineteenth cen-
tury is shown by the flourishing orders of Carthusians at Cowfold in
Sussex and in France, and by the Cistercians of La Trappe in France
and of St. Bernard in Leicestershire. Woodhouse, op. cit., pp. 351 and
378. This comparison with the Roman Catholic foundations bears out
the thesis of chapter ii.
' Gilg, "Die Renaissance des Klosterwesens in der anglikanischen
Kirche," in Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift, 1913, S., 377.
sRelway, George Ritndlc Prynne (London, 1905), p. 146.
* Bertouch, Life of Father Ignatius, O. S. B., the Monk of Llanthony
(London, 1904), p. 82.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
165
Lyne called Miss Sellon, "My mother Superior," and Pusey
"My father in God," and treasured relics of both in Llan-
thony Abbey. Almost up to his death, Pusey was the
chosen administrator of the Sacrament of Penance to
Ignatius. Pusey was his "friend, his confidant, his arbi-
trator in all situations difficult." ^ While at Plymouth
Lyne conceived the idea of a religious community. Even
before his acquaintance with Pusey, it seems that he had
gathered around him a group of men and boys, who called
him "Superior" and their group the "Society of the Love
of Jesus." - This Society grew to about forty members.
Lyne went to Pusey and Miss Sellon for advice about it,
and the latter with Pusey's encouragement loaned him a
house to begin his community life. With two Brothers, he
took possession of this house, but the existence of the com-
munity was cut short by Lyne's serious illness.^
At Bruges where he went to recuperate, Lyne studied the
rule of the Benedictine Order. On his return in 1861 he
took A. H. Mackonochie's place as curate of St. George's-
in-the-East, London. Here he assumed the Benedictine
habit, which occasioned much opposition and caused his
resignation after nine months.*
In 1862 Lyne, who henceforth called himself "Father
Ignatius," issued a pamphlet advocating the revival of
monasticism in the Church of England. This excited a
heated controversy.^ Not content with this, he secured two
kindred spirits and began the Order of St. Benedict at Clay-
don, near Ipswich. His reasons were strong and clear.
"Souls are perishing by thousands close to our doors. The
1 Ibid., p. 83.
2 Ibid., p. 92 ; cf. Gilg., op. cit., S. 377.
^ Ibid., pp. 92-100; cf. Kelway, George Rundle Prynne, pp. 146-147.
* Woods, in Dictionary of National Biography, Suppl. ii (New York,
1912), p. 495.
5 Ibid.
l66 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
Church of England, as she is at present, is wholly unable to
grapple with the task. . . . Communities of men — call them
colleges, monasteries, or whatever you please — appear to be
the most suitable for the object in view. These men should
be unmarried and altogether unshackled by earthly cares
and domestic ties. Such establishments must be governed
by rule. The rule of St. Benedict has received universal
pnction, and the veneration of thirteen centuries. It is
suitable in almost every way for all ages and times, arid is
consistent with the most faithful loyalty to the English
Church." ^
The specific objects to be attained by this order were:
( I ) The restoration of the ascetic life and continual prayer
in the Church of England; (2) Home mission work, by
preaching, visiting the poor, and teaching the young; (3)
To afford a temporary religious retreat for the secular
clergy; (4) To raise the tone of devotion in the English
Church to a higher standard by showing the real exempli-
fication of the evangelical "Counsels of Perfection"; (5)
To aid in bringing about the union of Christendom.^
There were three orders within the Community. The
First Order, to whom the above objects apply, observed the
Holy Rule of St. Benedict in its integrity. The noviciate
lasted, first for six months, then for four, then for two, then
for the year, until the novice was considered really called
by God to take the life vows. The Second Order consisted
of men and women living in the world, and yet leading in
their own homes a strictly religious life, using a prescribed
dress, reciting the canonical day hours according to the
Benedictine Use, and also observing the five rules of the
Third Order. This Third Order consisted of men, women
1 Brother Ignatius, in the Guardian, Oct. 26, 1864, p. 1031.
2 Kalendar of the English Church for the Year 1867 (London, 1867-
1907), p. 185.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
167
and children bound by solemn promise to obey five definite
rules regulating: (i) Their attendance at the holy mys-
teries of the Church; (2) Self-examination; (3) The use
of a prayer on behalf of the Society; (4) The giving of
alms ; and ( 5 ) Obedience to the Superior.^
This community was the object of many attacks. In
1863 Ignatius obtained a property at Elm Hill, near Nor-
wich.^ He built the chapel at his own expense and his
father helped to support the establishment.^ The bishops
never gave Ignatius any sanction in this work, but they did
not make any formal objection to his building a monastery.*
The Bishop of Norwich, however, inhibited him from
preaching in his diocese. There was much public criticism
and scandal; and the charges of Romanism seem to have
had some ground. An ex-Franciscan monk, who had sung
at Ignatius' services, wrote of the monastery: "Truly
everything done in it was Roman-like. They had candles,
altars, Virgins, Saints, Relics, Beads, Host, and a host of
other things; and the Anglicans here said it was more like
Rome than anything else. Still Ignatius, O. S. B. called
himself an EngHsh, and not a Roman, monk; and it was
known as the Norwich Monastery." ^ Ignatius wore san-
dals and shaved his head. There is extant a description of
the gorgeous ceremonies with which the monks celebrated
the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.*
Attacks from without ' and dissension within soon began
1 Ibid.
2 Gilg. op. cit., p. 377.
2 Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, 196 et seq. Testimony of his
Father, Francis Lyne.
* Ibid.
5 Widdows, Letters by F. G. Widdows, Frater Aloysius, Ex-Fran-
ciscan Monk (Dundee, 1879), p. 4.
8 Guardian, Aug. 24, 1864, quoting from the Norwich Argus.
^ Guardian, Oct. 26, 1864.
i68
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
to weaken the Society. The same ex-Franciscan wrote:
"Ignatius and his monks had not the policy of the Roman
Catholic monks, because the latter keep all scandals to them-
selves, and keep them within monastery walls." ^ A priest
of the Third Order said in defence of Ignatius that there
were no scandals while the Superior was at Norwich, but
that he was compelled to be absent so often raising money.^
In spite of the opposition and scandals, many clergy, how-
ever sympathized with Ignatius and some joined the Third
Order.^ As to the size of the establishment at Norwich,
a hostile ex-Brother writes that even at its zenith, there
were not as many as 150 in the entire Order — "men,
women, boys, girls, and infants." * After a stormy career
of about three years, Ignatius found himself dispossessed
of his property through a flaw in the title-deed ; ^ and in
1866 he retired to a house in Chale, loaned him by Pusey.
His three years' work was not without some fruits, at least
in the opinion of his followers. For instance, the subject
of monasticism had been ventilated and many prejudices
dispelled. The Catholic movement had received a great
impetus. Moreover, the Diocese of Norwich had been
greatly changed, the Catholic doctrines having been boldly
preached and gladly heard by hundreds.** The following
judgment of a friend of monasteries is enlightening and
seems very fair. "The Brotherhood of the Order of St.
1 Widdows, op. cit., p. 6.
^Guardian, Sept. 12, 1866, p. 951; cf. Temple Bar (Nov., 1865). xv,
139-
3 Guardian, May 20, 1866, p. 538.
* Guardian, Sept. 26, 1866. p. 997.
^'Guardian, Sept. 12, 1866, p. 951.
« Ibid., cf. Parliamentary Report, 1870, vii, p. 196 et seq.
The popular interest in Ignatius is shown by the following: "It is
scarcely necessary to speak of his personal appearance, for you may see
his photograph, vestments, properties, and all in the first shop-window
you pass." Temple Bar, xv, 141 (1865).
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
169
Benedict has not indeed met with Hke success. This is per-
haps owing to an overhasty indiscretion on the part of him
who attempted what was beyond his strength." ^
In 1867 Father Ignatius removed to Laleham, and at
Feltham near by he started a Benedictine community of
AngHcan Sisters." For two years he was busy on many
preaching missions, but he was inhibited by Archbishop Tait,
because of his proposal that he would "solemnly excom-
municate from Our Holy Congregation" a lady.^
In 1869 he bought the property at Chapel-y-fin, about
fourteen miles from Abergavenny. Plans were made for
a building copied after the ancient abbey of Llanthony, only
four miles away. It was called a "monastery" by the archi-
tect and was to have a cloister and a small burial ground.*
The laying of the cornerstone in February, 1870 was an
elaborate ceremony, attended by burning of candles and in-
cense. The size of the building is indicated by the amount
of the contract which was £674, with more to be built later.^
The pictures of the life at Llanthony have been given us
chiefly by Ignatius' enemies. Sister Mary Agnes, O. S. B.
who left the Feltham Convent, has written her views of
Ignatius," and Dom Cyprian Alston, O. S. B., who went
1 Bennett, "Some Results of the Tractarian Movement of 1833," in
Shipley, The Church and the World, 1867, p. 20.
- In 1868 he invited Hilda Mary Stewart, a member of Miss Sellon's
Sisterhood whom he had met in 1861, to assist him in founding an
Order of Enclosed Nuns at Feltham. She received the Benedictine
habit in the Chapel at Laleham. The Benedictines of Caldey Island
(Caldey Island, 1912), p. 129. After several changes of residence and
control, this Sisterhood seceded to the Roman faith in 1912.
2 Davidson and Benham, Life of Archibald Campbell Tait, 2 vols.
(London, 1891, i, 505.
* Pari. Report, 1870, vii, p. 195. Testimony of Edwin Foster, the
builder.
6 Ibid.
^Nunnery Life in the Church of England (London, 1890).
17©
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
over to the Benedictines of Caldey, has given a very mti-
mate and apparently rather sympathetic description of the
institution at Llanthony.^ This dissertation can only give
the statements as those present them. Alston arrived in
1888. At that time Ignatius had two Brothers and two or
three boys, with three nuns in an adjoining convent. The
number was constantly changing. The Superior usually
kept boys in the hope of developing future members of the
Community but the boys generally became dissatisfied with
the severe Rule and left. The Rule was really severe. An
attempt was made to abstain perpetually from eating meat
(although not always observed). There was very little re-
creation or relaxation. Silence was kept according to the
Benedictine Rule and enforced by severe and ridiculous
penalties. Moreover the conditions of life were none too
healthy. But there were reasons why Ignatius could not
enforce a strict observance of these rules. In the first
place, he did not live the community life himself. His oc-
cupations, devotions, meals, etc. were apart from tTie rest.
While he was sincere and earnest, he was rather erratic in
temper. His frequent and long absences prevented a close
oversight. There was consequently tale-bearing and spy-
ing among the members. Another cause of irregularity was
the presence of boys in the Community. Furthermore
Ignatius had no training in the Religious Life. He used to
say the only books a monk needed were the Bible and the
Holy Rule ; and as a result he kept the library locked. He
himself dictated the doctrines to be accepted and they were
a curious blend of Catholic dogma and Calvinism. He
recognized no ecclesiastical superior, and privately inter-
preted the Rule of St. Benedict. As to dress, he added to
the ordinary Benedictine habit, the use of Franciscan sandals
1 In Fax, Dec, 1913, p. 60 et seq.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
171
and a knotted rope for girdle, believing them more monastic
in appearance. He borrowed from some other orders the
custom of renewing vows year by year instead of admitting
to solemn Profession at the end of one year's Noviciate.
He therefore called them "Professed Novices." ^
Dom Alston shows the severity of the life, by giving a
schedule of the day's activities:
2 a. m. Rise.
Until 3 :45 Matins and Lauds.
3 :45-5 Household work.
5-6 Prime.
6-7:30 Household work.
7 :30-8 Tierce and a breakfast of dry bread and coffee.
8-10 Household duties.
10-12 Bible reading; writing, etc.
Noon Sext.
12 :30 p. m.-i p. m. Dinner.
1-2 Siesta.
2 None.
Until 4 :45 Various occupations, gardening, etc.
4:45-5 Visit to Blessed Sacrament.
5 Supper.
6 Vespers.
7-8 Recreation.
8-8:15 Assembly in Sacristy for a "Conference," con-
sisting of a chapter from the Holy Rule and a
reading from Butler's Lives of the Saints.
8:15 Compline.
Retire immediately afterwards.^
With a proper allowance for the exaggeration of the
ex-Brother, the reader can see that the life at Llanthony
1 Ibid.
2 Ibid.
172
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
must have been rather severe/ At any rate the Commu-
nity did not prosper. At the death of Ignatius in 1908,
he left only five Brothers and a few Sisters. These were
unable to carry on the Community and from 1909 on Llan-
thony Abbey became the property of the Benedictines of
Caldey Island.^
SEC. IV. THE BENEDICTINES OF CALDEY ISLAND
The Order of St. Benedict founded by Father Ignatius
was not a revival of pure Benedictinism. Ignatius was in-
dependent and erratic, his rules were eclectic. It was left
to another to restore the precise methods of the fourteenth
century.^
When a lad- of twelve, Aelred Carlyle found in his
father's library a copy of Rev. Samuel Fox's Monks and
Monasteries.* "It was from this volume that he first con-
sciously received the impulse which has become the master-
motive of his life." ^ He kept his ideal before him; and
when in 1892 he began his medical studies, his mind was
still set upon the Religious Life with a definite attraction
to the Order of St. Benedict. As a student in one of the
London hospitals he lived as closely as possible according
to the Rule of that Order. In this same year he paid an
apparently accidental visit to the Benedictine nuns at
Twickenham,*^ who had been founded with the sanction of
Dr. Temple, Bishop of London.'^ The visit showed him
^ Cf. Sister Mary Agnes, Nunnery Life, on the cruelty of the
penances, p. 84 et seq.
^Pax, Dec, 1909, pp. 121-123.
3 Rogers, in A Franciscan Revival, ed. by A. Clifton Kehvay, Plais-
tow, 1908, p. 43.
* Cf. Bibliography.
The Benedictines of Caldey Island, p. 121.
* Founded by Ignatius.
' Benedictines of Caldey Island, p. 13.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
that the Benedictine Life had already been revived for wo-
men, and hence was feasible for men. Aelred was admitted
into the Oblates of St. Benedict, an association of young
men organized by the chaplain of the nuns. This society
did not last long, but in the meantime Aelred had organized
at Ealing an association of ten young men. They rented
a house, in which they spent as much time as their various
occupations permitted, saying such Ofifices as they were
able to say together. This quasi-common life continued
for two years.^
The year 1895 marks a new stage. The Oblates were
invited to come to the parish of St. John's, Isle of Dogs,
and to test themselves for a definite religious community.
Aelred accepted for himself, and made the following state-
ment to the Oblates : "The Oblates of St. Benedict consist
of men living in the world under yearly vows of Poverty,
Chastity and Obedience, and observing the Rule of St. Bene-
dict so far as their secular state of life allows. The chief
object is to discover and test individual vocations for the
Monastic State; to learn the Rule and customs of the Re-
ligious life, and in this manner to prevent the failure of
vocations when the Regular Community should be formed.
In the future the whole Rule of St. Benedict is to be ob-
served in its primitive austerity, with all the ancient customs
and traditions of the Benedictine Order." ^ He then pro-
ceeded to sketch the three phases of the Religious Life.
There were to be: (i) A community of contemplative
monks, living in the country and spending their time in
prayer, study and manual work; (2) A house of Active
Religious, under the same Rule slightly modified, in London
or some other great city, working among the poor and the
needy; and (3) Men — lawyers, doctors, etc. — living in the
^Ibid., p. 13.
2 Ibid., p. 14.
174
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
same House, under the same Rule, with the same Vows,
each working in his own sphere. Aelred hoped that the
work might begin with the second phase, such as was then
offered in the parish of St. John's, and that this might
enable the first to be entered upon later. ^ The Oblates
seemed impressed with the urgency of the claims, but not
one agreed to join their leaders in the attempt.
Aelred's resolution remained unshaken. On Easter Sun-
day 1896, he was clothed as a novice by the chaplain of the
Benedictine Nuns, then at Mailing Abbey.^ During the
next two years he worked in the parish of St. John's, Isle
of Dogs. He was treated with courtesy and sympathy by
the clergy in that parish; but toward the close of 1897,
Aelred- felt that he should retire to the country in order to
live the contemplative life. Through the influence of the
Rev. D. G. Cowan, he secured an interview with Dr. Temple,
Archbishop of Canterbury, on Feb. 11, 1898. The Arch-
bishop was deeply interested in the restoration of the Re-
ligious Life and expressed a great veneration for the Bene-
dictine Rule.^ Three days later he sent him the authoriza-
tion for his solemn Profession as a monk under the Holy
Rule of St. Benedict.* This Profession was made in the
Chapel of West Mailing Abbey, Feb. 20, 1898.
During the summer of 1898 Father Aelred and a Brother
who had joined him spent some time at West Mailing.
While they were looking for a permanent home, Father
^Ibid., p. 15.
2 Ibid., p. 20.
3 Ibid., p. 21 ; cf. Memoirs of Archbishop Temple, by Seven Friends,
ed. by E. G. Sandford, 2 vols. (London, 1906), ii, 41.
* Lambeth Palace, Feb. 14, 1898. "My dear Sir : You have my per-
mission to ask Mr. Richards, the chaplain of West Mailing Abbey, to
receive your profession and he has hereby my sanction for receiving
it." (Reproduced, ibid., p. 23). This act has been often cited by the
advocates of monasticism in their desire for ecclesiastical sanction.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
Page, then Superior of the Society of St. John the Evange-
Hst, Cowley, being greatly interested in this new attempt,
invited them'to visit Cowley. Here they spent two months
and gained much inspiration.^ Still unable to find a house,
they accepted Page's ofifer to go and help the Cowley
Fathers in their London House at 29 Great Titchfield Street.
They were able here to have their own chapel. Many young
men were attracted to this House, some of whom later were
professed. On September 24, 1898, a Novice made his
simple vows and a Postulant entered the noviciate.^ Later
in the autumn, the three Brothers moved to "The Retreat,"
a small house about two miles from Milton Abbas in Dor-
setshire.
In the autumn of 1900, owing to a change in the owner-
ship of Milton Abbas, the community had to seek a fresh
home. The Rev. W. Done Bushell offered them a tem-
porary asylum on Caldey Island, which he owned. ^ They
accepted, and for fifteen months they worked to make their
new location a suitable home for their community. The
work and hardship welded them into a homogeneous body.
More money, however, was needed to equip the place prop-
erly; and therefore early in 1902 they were glad to accept
the generous offer of Lord Halifax to occupy Painsthorpe
in Yorkshire.*
The year 1902 marks the second important stage in their
development. On February 23, the Charter was signed
by the seven Brothers of the community, announcing their
choice of Father Aelred as Abbot, and asking the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury to sanction the community and the
election. This he did in May, and the Order of St. Benedict
thus became a recognized institution of the English Church.
1 Ibid., p. 24.
2 Ibid., p. 25.
3 Ibid., p. 27.
*Ibid., p. 30.
^ For facsimile vide, ibid., p. 32.
176
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
When the community moved from Caldey to Painsthorpe,
it received the recognition and sympathy of the Archbishop
of York and the rector of the parish became the editor of
the official history of the Order.^ The final act of ecclesi-
astical recognition was the installation of the abbot. In
1903 Bishop Grafton of Fond-du-Lac came to visit Lord
Halifax. At the the suggestion of Aelred, the Archbishop
of York permitted Bishop Grafton to perform the act of
Blessing and Installation on October 30. This same bishop
ordained Aelred deacon and priest in November, 1904, at
Ripon, Wisconsin, U. S. A., while the Abbot was visiting
Grafton to consider the possibility of founding a Benedic-
tine House in his diocese."
The community was limited in its growth by the size of
the house at Painsthorpe. In the autumn of 1905 Lord
Halifax was considering the enlargement of the building,
when the purchase of Caldey Island was made possible.^
On July 20, 1906, the contract of sale was signed, "and the
final conveyance of the freehold of the Island to a trust
formed of the Professed members of the community was
effected on Sept. 29, 1906." * The community, now eight-
een in number, left Painsthorpe on Oct. 17, 1906; and at its
1 Rev. W. R. Shepherd.
- Ibid., p. 40 ; cf. Rogers in A Franciscan Revival, p. 43.
3 Ibid., p. 42.
* Ibid., p. 42. This fact is important owing to the later dispute over
the ownership of Caldey Island when the Community went over to
Rome. In 1908 Abbot Aelred wrote: "In connection with the passing
away of Father Ignatius, I have been asked several times what would
happen to Caldey in the event of my death. . . . Upon the completion
of the purchase, the whole property was at once invested in a Trust
consisting of Solemnly Professed members of this Community and to
ensure the preservation of Caldey to the Church of England. My
death could make no difference to the carrying out of this Trust." {Pax,
Dec, 1908, p. 96). But in May, 1913, the Abbot explains that in 1912
the interests were settled and the Trust freed from the conditions
depending upon them. {Pax, May, 1913, p. 221).
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
177
departure expressions of love were given by the parishion-
ers, for the popular suspicion had been long since overcome.
Their growth continued at Caldey, so that at time of seces-
sion in 1913, the community consisted of 33 Brothers, of
whom 9 were in Solemn Vows, 13 in Simple Vows, 5 Nov-
ices and 6 Oblates.^ In addition to the establishment at
Caldey, there were two branches, one at Pershore, and the
other at Llanthony, the former monastery of Father Igna-
tius.^ In fact the Church Times thinks the prosperity of
the Order was the cause of its undoing.^
The history of the Order having been sketched, it is well
to glance at its purpose and method. "Our Fundamental
Purpose, as a Religious Community, is to get back to First
Principles which lie deep in the foundation of these great
realities: (i) The nature of God, Who is Perfect Love.
1 Pax, May, 1913, p. 218.
2 Tlie connection between Llanthony and Caldey has been a matter
of some dispute. Of Father Ignatius, Aelred wrote: "It is difficult
for me to write about one whom I loved and revered, but with whose
point of view I could not always agree. Our work began quite inde-
pendently of Father Ignatius and I did not ever see him until after I
had made my own Profession." {Pax, Dec, 1908, p. 95.) Ignatius
was always interested in Aelred's community, and, as his own group
was small, he thought it might be possible for the new community to
come to Llanthony; but the terms could not be satisfactorily arranged.
In regard to the disposal of Llanthony Abbey after the death of Igna-
tius in 1908, Aelred wrote : "I mentioned the fact that Llanthony Abbey
had been bequeathed by him to certain members of the little commu-
nity he left behind. The senior of these was Brother Asaph, and at the
death of Father Ignatius the property passed to him and to a Sister
in the Convent. . . . For a year after Ignatius' death Brother Asaph
and four others struggled, but in September, 1909, they decided it was
impossible to continue any longer as they were." {Pax, Dec, 1909).
The Sister relinquished her share in favor of Asaph, who, with three
of the Brethren, was given a chance to test his vocation at Caldey
Island. Brother Asaph, however, seemed to have been the only one of
Ignatius' community to become a permanent member of the Caldey
Benedictines. {Pax, June, 1910, p. 289.)
3 Mar. 14, 1913, p. 362.
178 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
(2) The nature of Man, whose soul is made in the image of
God by creation, who is renewed by Redemption by Jesus
the Son of God, and dedicated in Sanctification by the Holy
Spirit of God." ^ Man is created to contribute to God's
happiness. His motive power should be the hope of the
life to come and the love of Almighty God. "The accidents
of our life, the Holy Rule, the Habit, and Monastic customs
are merely the externals which enshrine the principle that
keeps us together." ^ The Evangelical counsels are Pov-
erty, Chastity and Obedience. As to poverty, Jesus pro-
nounces clearly in its favor and he himself selected that for
his own state. "As regards chastity — by which we under-
stand the choice of the virgin state by persons of either sex
— 'Blessed are the pure in heart' ; 'Whosoever shall look
upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery
already with her in his heart' ; and again our Lord's own
personal adoption of the virgin state." ^ As to obedience,
" 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom
of Heaven' ; 'Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the
earth.' " *
The life of the Order is distinctly the Contemplative.
"We feel, therefore, no hesitation in making it clear that
the primary work of our community at Caldey is Prayer." ^
The recitation of the Divine Office is divided into eight ser-
vices— Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers,
Compline : These are recited every day in the year, at the
times appointed by the Rule, and not by aggregate, as is
common in some communities." The austerity of the life
is indicated by the fact that the first office is recited at 2
a. m.' Other than this the Order practiced no particular
1 Ihid., p. 70. 5 Ibid., p. 79.
2 Ibid., p. 71. « Ibid., p. 86.
^ Ibid., p. 75. ''Pax, Mar., 1911, p. 192.
*Ibid., p. 75-
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
179
austerity except abstinence from all fleshly meat by those
in good health, and silence, which is strictly kept during the
day except for the hour of recreation.^ They were not ab-
normally or mechanically ascetic."
The qualifications for membership were clearly marked
out. To become a Postulant, the candidate must bring a
baptismal certificate and two references from parish clergy.
He must be of sound health and free from engagements of
debt or marriage. He was expected to defray the expenses
of his Noviciate.^ The most suitable age was between 18
and 25, but exceptions were possible. "As to education, the
more the better, but there is also room among us for those
who have not had the best opportunities, but who are young
enough and willing enough to learn." * The term of Pos-
tulancy was indeterminate, lasting from a few weeks to six
months. If the Postulant persevered and developed signs
of the Vocation, he was clothed as a Novice. The Novici-
ate lasted at least one year after the clothing ; ^ and then, by
a two-thirds vote of all the Professed members, the Novice
was permitted to take simple Vows. This was a promise
made to God, but not accepted in an absolute manner by
the Church. Hence these vows could be dispensed by the
Abbot."
After at least three years lived under Simple Vows, the
Brother could by a three-fourths vote of the Professed
members make his Solemn Profession, provided he was
more than twenty-five years old. His vows were now
* Ibid., p. 193.
2 For the explanations of the Benedictine Rule, vide, Grafton, Works,
8 vols. (New York, 1914), v, 303 et seq.
3 Pax, Mar., 1908, p. 459.
* Pax, Dec., 1908, p. 97.
5 Benedictines of Caldey Island, p. 95.
" Ibid., p. 95. For this distinction between Simple and Solemn Vows,
vide, Hughson, The Fundamentals of the Religious Life.
l8o THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
irrevocable/ The four marks of a Vocation were consid-
ered to be: (i) Truly to seek God; (2) To be fervent in
the work of God; (3) To be ready for obedience; and (4)
to be ready for humiliation.^
How long could such a purely mediaeval Order continue
in the Church of England ? Its progress and growth were
slow but steady, as has been seen ; and it received the sanc-
tion of the highest Episcopal authorities. The prospect
seemed good for the permanent revival of Benedictinism,
and it appeared to have a special right of existence in that
it had been established in the period of the undivided Cath-
olic Church.^ However, signs of discontent became evident
after a few years. In 1910 the abbot wrote: "It seems
rather a strange thing, when we need priests for the proper
conduct of our Monastery service, that we should be forced
to wait for two years after their ordination, and that the
whole of the Diaconate — which ought to be a time spent in
the intensifying of the Spiritual Life — should be passed in
the hurly-burly of clubs and parochial organizations. . . .
We are feeling increasingly that some definite arrangement
should be made for those who have been called to the Con-
templative Life, when God gives them in addition a further
vocation to the priesthood. . . . Men are ordained to col-
leges and schools, and a monastery should have at least the
same facilities." * It would seem from this that not all the
members had received the same recognition as had Aelred
himself at the hands of Bishop Grafton. On Dec. 13, 191 1,
the Abbot wrote the Archbishop of Canterbury, "asking for
such a measure of countenance as would give us a recog-
nized status." ^ The Bishop of Oxford, Dr. Gore, was
appointed Episcopal Visitor and correspondence began be-
Ibid., p. 95.
^Fax, Dec, 1908, p. 97.
^ Pax, Dec, 1910, p. 112.
*Pax, Dec, 1910. p. loi.
= Pax, May, 1913, p. 214.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
i8i
tween him and the Abbot. Bishop Gore designated Dr.
Darwell Stone and Mr. W. B. Trevelyan to visit Caldey
Island as his representatives.^ They made their visit on
Jan. 3, 191 3, and on February 8 Bishop Gore wrote the
Abbot, giving four conditions on which he would become
official visitor. These conditions were as follows : ( i ) The
property should be legally secured to the Church of Eng-
land; (2) The use of the Liturgy of the Book of Common
Prayer; (3) The abandonment of the practice of Exposition
and Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament; (4) The
elimination from the breviary and missal of the doctrine of
the Immaculate Conception and of the corporal Assumption
of Our Lady.^ Each Brother was given a copy of Gore's
letter. On February 18 the Abbot saw clearly "that the
Divine authority and unity of the Catholic Church were to
be found only in union with the Holy See." ^ The next day
all the Brothers met and voted to withdraw from the Church
of England.* Only one member left Caldey desiring to
continue the Benedictine Life in the Anglican Church.'
When the secession to Rome became known considerable
public hostility was aroused ; and the question of the prop-
erty became acute. The lawyer for the monks claimed that
1 Church Times, Feb., 28, 1913.
2 Ibid.
^Pax, May, 1913, p. 215. It is interesting to note that a writer,
"B. R. W.," had written in Pax as early as Sept., 1912, thus : "Recon-
ciliation with Rome in some form or other is the predestined end of
the Oxford Movement and the only means of stemming the tide of
infidelity which has set in. . . . The underlying principle of all these
desires for reconciliation with the Holy See, is to be found in the fact
that there has been, ever since the breach with Rome, a consciousness
in the minds of many of the best Anglicans of a supreme desire for
reunion, without having to deny that their own Communion is part
of the Catholic Church, and that their orders and sacraments are valid."
* Pax, May, 1913, p. 216.
' Ibid., p. 2ig.
1 82 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the donor was willing to give the property to Rome, and
said that the Abbot would refund to Anglicans who ask for
their contributions/ About £2000 were asked to be re-
turned.^
The Roman Catholic view of the secession is an interest-
ing commentary on the Revival of Benedictinism in the
Church of England. "Theirs has been the only serious, or
so far, successful attempt to introduce the contemplative life
into the Anglican communion. The movement has now col-
lapsed, and it is unlikely that any one will hereafter attempt
an experiment foredoomed to failure." ^
SEC. V. SOCIETY OF S. JOHN THE EVANGELIST
The purely contemplative life has been so far unable to
take a permanent root in the Church of England. In fact
it would probably have been impossible for it to have gained
even its temporary foothold, had it not been for the fact
that more active orders of men were already established.
This debt is acknowledged by a modern Benedictine, who
says: "Indeed it would have been impossible, humanly
speaking, to restore amongst us the Benedictine Life, had not
the restoration been preceded by the foundation of modern
Sisterhoods and of such Societies as Cowley and Mirfield
— Communities which devote themselves to external active
work (with devotion as the source of their strength), and
so, even in the eyes of the world, justify the Life they lead
by the work they undertake." * As we have seen through-
out, it was the social argument which the advocates of mo-
nasticism put forth first in order to gain popular support.
First in point of time among these more active, and hence
1 Church Times, Mar. 14, 1913, p. 362.
2 Pax, May, 1913, p. 223.
3 Dom Bede Camm in the Catholic Mind, 1913, p. 89.
* Benedictines of Caldcy Island, p. 6.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
183
more socially attractive, orders was the Society of S. John
the Evangelist, commonly known as the Cowley Fathers.
Owing to a later division in the Society, there has been a
little dispute over its origin. Bishop Grafton, one of the
original members, gives the following account of its begin-
ning. "In 1863 I was drawn seriously to consider the prac-
ticability of forming a religious Society of misson priests
adapted to the needs of our own Church. In the matter I
sought frequently the counsel of my own Bishop, the late
Bishop Whittingham of Maryland, and had his encourage-
ment and general approval. In the winter of 1864, Father
Prescott, who had known of the matter from the first, and
myself went apart for a long retreat with this end in view.
In the spring of 1865, with the approval of my Bishop, I
went to England in order to obtain information before be-
ginning the work here. There I was kindly received by Dr.
Pusey, the late Bishop of Brechin, and others, who warmly
encouraged the scheme and gave it the benefit of their coun-
sel." ^ S. W. O'Neill was interviewed and a plan was
formed. Richard Meux Benson was asked to join, which
he did.
The English members of the Society, however, accord the
title of founder to Father Benson.^ Benson was ordained
deacon in 1848, having studied at Christ Church, Oxford, a
rendezvous of the Tractarians. From 1850 to 1870 he was
Vicar of Cowley, and from 1870 to 1886 of Cowley St. John,
Oxford.^ The occasion for the founding of a Religious
Order is said to have been a sermon preached by John Keble
at Wantage July 22, 1863.* Benson felt himself called to
* Grafton, A Letter Addressed to the Members of the Society of St.
John the Evangelist, n. p. n. d., p. 3 et seq.
2 Puller, The Continuity of the Church of England (London, 1913),
p. Id.
3 Gilg, Die Renaissance, etc., p. 373.
* Ollard, Dictionary of English Church History, p. 502.
1 84 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
be a missionary, and this led him to the project of a Society,
for the cuhivation of a hfe dedicated to God in works both
missionary and educational/ Associated with him were
Fathers Grafton, later Bishop of Fond-du-Lac, and O'Neill,
an Eton tutor. These three made their Professions together
on May 6, 1866.
At first the Society had no constitution. Benson did not
think it was necessary. "As to the agreement made at the
beginning, he declared that a Religious Society could spring
from one man only, and could have but one founder, and in
the present case the founder, however unworthy, was him-
self. He informed us that a constitution could not be
framed and come into force until a Society had passed out
of its founder's hands, and that in the meanwhile the con-
^stitution was sufficiently enunciated in his teachings during
the July retreat." ^ Benson, however, seems to have agreed
that a constitution should be formed when there came to be
twelve Professed Fathers.^ According to one of Ben-
son's critics, this agreement was spoken of from time
to time, but after the number twelve was complete,
Benson postponed the formation of a constitution indef-
initely.*
Although no constitution is available for our study, it is
possible to get some idea of the purpoes of the Society from
various writings. Benson expresses his general conception
of the Religious life thus: "We must remember that our
life as Religious is not something over and above the ordi-
nary Christian life. It is only the ordinary Christian life
developed under such regulations as are necessary for indi-
1 A Franciscan Revival, p. 38.
2 Grafton, op. cit., p. 7.
3 Ibid., pp. 3-5.
■* Gardner, A Reprint of Letters to the Superior of the Society of St.
John the Evangelist, England, n. p. n. d., p. 3.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
185
viduals, because the Church at large has fallen away from
her true spiritual calling of conscious and habitual union
with Christ." ^ Yet a clear distinction is made between
their communion and a confraternity. "It is obvious,"
writes a member, "that there is a marked distinction between
associations such as guilds or confraternities of various de-
grees of strictness, existing in the church for the advance-
ment of the spiritual life, and the life of a Religious Com-
munity consisting of either men or women, who, in response
to a divine vocation, make the life-long dedication of their
lives to God under the three vows of poverty, obedience and
chastity." " Their life was not to be one of ease and idle-
ness. "You will find Religious Communities to-day not
generally making themselves comfortable in pleasant places,
but laboring among wild men in dangerous climate, in hos-
pitals also, and prisons, all over the world." ^ Benson him-
self could not believe the purely contemplative life adapted
to the nineteenth century. He writes : "A Society may ex-
ist for contemplation, abstraction from the world, dealing
with spiritual things immediately according to Divine inspir-
ation, lifted up to God in energies of supernatural love, and
consequently tested by severe Satanic conflict. Such voca-
tions must in every age be rare. In our present age they
are scarcely conceivable." * But the life was not to be ac-
tive in the sense of a settlement house, for Benson saw great
value in contemplation. He adds, therefore : "We are not,
however, to think that we have no need to consider the con-
templative life, because we are not called to pure contem-
plation. Separated from the active life, it is fraught with
the greatest danger, but yet no form of the active life can be
1 Benson, The Followers of the Lamb (London, 1905), p. 6.
2 Father Nicholson, in Cowley Evangelist, 1909-1910, p. 76.
3 "G. C," in Cowley Evangelist, 1909-1910, p. 245.
* Benson, op cit., p. 4.
i86
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
truly spiritual without contemplation." ^ The Cowley
Fathers' life is, therefore, of the "mixed" type. They aim
to do useful social work, but it can be said of them as one
of their number said of the Sisters of Mercy, "Their useful
work is not their raison d'etre. They are called of God to
live essentially a consecrated life." ^ Enemies have often
accused the Cowley Fathers of Jesuitical tendencies, but
a friend also has likened their life to that of the Jesuits.
"Its supreme merit," he writes, "is that it picked up the Re-
ligious Life just where it left off. . . . The last true phase
of the Religious Life before Cowley was the Jesuit Order.
. . . The nineteenth century rightly developed the sixteenth
century idea." ^
On this general principle of a "mixed" life, the Society
observes a very strict rule. "Its rule has been described,"
says a friend, "as the severest which is anywhere to-day
kept throughout the whole Catholic Church, East or West." *
The severity is indicated by Benson's expressed conception
of the Religious Vocation : "God calls into the Religious
Life those who are to do some special work for Him. We
must feel that the work is summed up in the word — to die.
What we do accidentally or outwardly we do in common
with all Christians. To be dead to the world while we are
in it is the specialty of our Religious vocation." ^ That
the Vocation is a termination of former customs is shown
by the following: "Its members, when they are professed
part with any property which they may possess, and take
life-long vows of celibacy, and promise to live in obedience
to the constituted authorities of the Society in accordance
1 Ibid., p. 5-
2 Father Congreve, in an Address before the Norwich Diocesan Con-
vention, 1906. {Cowley Evangelist, 1907-1908, p. 37.)
3 Rogers, in A Franciscan Revival, p. 38.
" Ibid.
^ Benson, op. cit., p. 38.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
187
with its Rule and Statutes. They daily recite together in
their Chapel the offices of Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None,
Vespers, and Compline, and they have other rules concern-
ing times to be set apart for private prayer, and concerning
fasting and silence and other exercises of the Religious
Life." ^
"Dying to the virorld" involves a strenuous schedule. In
this, one feature is the exercise of mental prayer, or medita-
tion. This mental prayer must be jcultivated with bodily
penance, although not with great austerity.^ The intellec-
tual life is encouraged as essential in order to cherish con-
templation.'' The active work consists mainly in minister-
ing to the educated classes, by catechising in parochial
schools, by preaching, by conducting retreats, and by for-
eign missions. The Fathers are much in demand by the
parochial clergy as mission preachers, these missions or re-
vivals lasting from ten days to a fortnight.* Also the con-
ducting of Retreats, lasting from three to five days, is a
very popular phase of their work. These Retreats are some-
times held in convents for the benefit of the Sisters, and
sometimes in other places for the clergy, very often at the
London House in Great College Street, Westminster, S. W."
Moreover, Fathers hear many confessions, and from time
to time some of them write books dealing with spiritual or
theological subjects. Lay brothers are united with the
clergy in the Society, but are not admitted to equal partici-
1 Puller, The Continuity of the Church of England, p. 102. Robert
Hugh Benson, who visited the Cowley Fathers before joining the
Community of the Resurrection, thought their life was too rigid and
severe. — Martindale, The Life of Monsignor Robert Hugh Benson,
2 vols. (London, 1916), i, 129.
2 Benson, op. cit., p. 7.
3 Ibid., p. 9.
* Puller, op. cit., p. 103.
5 Ibid.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
pation or to full privileges. The distinction between "lay"
and "choir" members is further shown by the Noviciate,
which for priests is two or three years in duration, while for
laymen it is longer.*
The Society has grown considerably. Its Mother House
is at Cowley St. John, Oxford; while the London House is
in Great College Street, Westminster, S. W. Branch
houses, where mission work is being carried on, are estab-
lished at Bombay and Poona in India, in South Africa at
Capetown and St. Cuthbert's, Kafifraria, and in the United
States at Boston.^ The Society publishes a monthly maga-
zine. The Cowley Evangelist, which shows the missionary
interest and the methods of extension.
SEC. VI. THE COMMUNITY OF THE RESURRECTION
On October 7, 1887, the Society of the Resurrection was
formed by a union of the Brotherhood of the Epiphany,
which was part of the Oxford Mission to Calcutta, and the
clergy of the Pusey House, Oxford. Its aim was to afford
help and encouragement to priests desiring to live the celi-
bate life in community.^ As a natural development from
this, Charles Gore, after a year's special probation, joined
himself with five other Brothers and formed the Community
of the Resurrection on St. James Day, 1892. They made
their Profession in Pusey House Chapel.* The Order re-
mained at Pusey House until September, 1893, when it
moved to Radley. In 1898 the House of the Resurrection
at Mirfield became its center.'*
1 Ibid.
-Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916, London, S. P.
C. K., p. 67.
3 Rogers, op. cit., p. 41.
* Ibid., p. 42 ; cf. Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916.
= For a description of this House, cf. Martindale, op. cit., i, 146
et seq.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
The life of the other monastic orders having been traced
already, it is necessary to mention only the distinctive fea-
tures of this community. Some modern monks would al-
most deny its right to be called a monastic order.^ One
writer classifies it as similar to the Congregations ; ^ while a
Jesuit describes it thus: "And Mirfield, which to-day is
Lazarist, so to say, in tone, was then (1898) (as a Cowley
Father put it) Oratorian rather than monastic." ^ Perhaps
more reliable is the classification of Robert Hugh Benson,
an ex-member, who explains the life, as "less rigid than that
of the ordinary Catholic Orders, but more rigid than that of
such Congregations as the Oratorians." * The tendency at
Mirfield has been toward increasing rigidity, and the Com-
munity is commonly and rightfully classed among the mo-
nastic orders.
The members are not subject to life vows, but join the
order after at least one year's probation, with the full inten-
tion of remaining permanently.^ They take the three vows
of poverty, chastity and obedience from year to year. If
their intention should flag, no dispensation is necessary, but
departure can take place automatically at the end of the
year. "The vow of obedience was understood in the usual
way : external obedience was required, save when conscience
genuinely protested ; interior obedience was expected within
the limits imposed by each man's psychic temperament. By
chastity, celibacy was meant. There was no suggestion, I
gather, that marriage attempted in defiance of this vow was
null and void. Poverty implied that a man's capital re-
mained intact to him, but his income was handed over to
1 Such was the opinion expressed to the writer by members of the
Order of the Holy Cross, West Park, New York.
2 Martindale, op. cit., i, 148.
3 Benson, Confessions of a Convert (London, 1913), p. 63.
* Benson, op. cit. (London, 1913), p. 63.
5 A Franciscan Revival, p. 41.
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
the community. The dictum, moreover, Quidquid mo-
nachus acqnirit, monasterio acquirit, was recognized : books
written at Mirfield remained a source of revenue to the
house." ^ Although the vows are thus seen to be less strict
than those of the Cowley Fathers, the members regard the
life as a "dying daily." ^
At the time of Benson's admission in 1898 the daily sched-
ule was somewhat less burdensome than at Caldey or Cow-
ley. The Community rose at 6:15, recited Matins at 6:50,
and followed this with Prime. At 7:15 the Eucharist was
celebrated by one member only of the Community, thus
emphasizing, in their opinion, the social aspect of the com-
mon Oblation. Breakfast followed in silence; Terce was
said at 8:45, Meditation following at 9 either in the Chapel
or in private rooms. Sext was recited at i P. M., after
which came dinner at I :i5. Tea was after None at 4:15.
Evensong was said at 7 ; supper was at 7 :30, Compline at
9:45, and the lights were officially extinguished at 10.
This was the order in Benson's time, "and it has not been al-
tered substantially in our own." ^
The life at Mirfield has even more of the active element
than at Cowley. Its type is to be characterized as "mixed."
The community is intended to "consist of priests occupied in
various works — pastoral, evangelistic, literary and educa-
tional, with the life of religion as their foundation." * The
members hear many confessions, conduct many Retreats and
preach many Missions, as do the Cowley Fathers.^ "But
^ Martindale, op. cit., i, 161. For the arguments in favor of these
vows vide, Bull, The Revival of the Religious Life (New York, 1914),
p. 70 et seq.
2 Figgis, J. N., Religious and English Society (London, 1910), p. 45.
3 Martindale, op. cit., i, 148-149.
* Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916, p. 67.
5 The number of these is indicated by the list of Intercessions in the
Chronicle of the Community of the Resurrection (No. 27, Michaelmas
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
191
perhaps the most important of the home works is the College
of the Resurrection which was founded in 1902, and which
has grown and prospered beyond the brightest dreams of its
founders." ^ Its aim is to train candidates for the minis-
try, since so many more clergy are needed than the English
universities are producing. "After taking their degree at
Leeds University, where they reside in a Hostel, the stu-
dents spend two years in theological study at Mirfield.
After ordination and some experience of pastoral work,
they are invited to return for a visit of a week or more, dur-
ing which they study moral theology and casuistry." ^ In
addition to the above works the members find time to make
a considerable literary output. Charles Gore, W. H. Frere,
Robert Hugh Benson, John Neville Figgis and Paul B. Bull
are among those whose names are familiar in theological
and devotional literature. Foreign missions also claim their
attention. In 1903, the community started a House at
Johannesburg, for mission work among the Europeans and
natives. The community is also in charge of St. John's
College, a Diocesan High School for Boys; and in S. Rho-
desia it has charge of St. Augustine's Mission, Penhalonga.
The exact size of the community at the present time is
not known to the writer. When R. H. Benson made his
Profession in 1901 they "numbered about fourteen mem-
bers, all of whom were in the full Orders of the Church of
England, and all of whom had had experience in parish
work. We had no lay-brothers, but the necessary house-
hold duties which we did not do ourselves were done by
three or four servants." * In 1912 he writes: "Now, how-
Day, 1909), which mentions 24 preaching Missions from October 9 to
December 18 and 4 Retreats from October 10 to November 21.
^ More Men, pamphlet published by the Community of the Resurrec-
tion, Leeds, 1910.
*Martindale, op. cit., i, 196.
* Benson, op. cit., p. 64.
192
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
ever, the numbers of the community have risen to between
twenty and thirty." ^ The members are drawn from all
branches of the Anglican Church, and even from the Non-
conformists." "There are Fathers whose antecedents are
entirely Evangelical, side by side with those of High Church
antecedents ; while not a small proportion have come to the
Community out of Nonconformity." ^ Over against the
advantage of this wide appeal, however, is the fact that the
order is not regarded as satisfactory by the extreme party
of Ritualists. Benson thinks this is partly due to Gore's
High Liberalism, his position on "higher criticism," and his
views on Christian Socialism.^
SEC. VII. SOCIETY OF THE SACRED MISSION
Only a few words are needed to describe the distinctive
features of this Society, which is still less monastic than
the Community of the Resurrection. It is perhaps best
classified as similar to the Society of S. Vincent de Paul.*
Like the Cowley Fathers, it is an outgrowth of the desire
for missionary work; and like the Mirfield Community it
has grown more monastic as years have passed.^
The Reverend Herbert H. Kelly, was in charge of an
out-of-the-way mission in the south of London, when he
saw the need of more use of the Church's materials. In
March, 1890, he offered himself to Bishop Corfe of Corea as
a missionary to that country. He was to take out a band of
twelve young laymen, but he and the Bishop realised that
these must be trained first. Therefore, a house was taken
at 99 Vassall Road, where teaching work was begun on
1 Ibid., p. 64.
2 Frere, English Church Ways (Milwaukee, 1914).
3 Benson, op. cit., p. 70.
^ A Franciscan Revival, p. 40.
5 Judd, in Pax, June, 1909, p. 328.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
193
January i, 1891. Kelly laid down three conditions for en-
trance: (i) A man must be ready to serve without pay;
(2) He must intend to live unmarried; (3) He must come
simply to serve Christ and be equally ready to take what-
ever place or work was assigned to him.^
Although a monastic order was not yet begun, a daily rou-
tine of offices and work was instituted very similar to that
in monastic communities. It was as follows: 6:00 a. m.,
Matins and Prime; 7:00, Celebration in the Church, fol-
lowed by a breakfast of bread and butter, and then by house-
work; 9:00, Terce, followed by work; 12:00, Sext; 12:15
Dinner; 2:00 p. m., None; 6:00, Tea, consisting of bread
and butter; 7:00, Evensong; 9:30, Compline.'^ The aus-
terity of the life in the matter of food and work seems to
have been even greater than at Cowley or Mirfield.
The founders of this training House soon became con-
vinced that only a Religious Life could save the work from
individualism. Hence on May 9, 1893, Kelly and two
brothers began a Noviciate, and by the end of the summer
the number had grown to six. Father Kelly and Father
Woodward made the first Profession on Michaelmas Day,
1894.^ They called the order the Society of the Sacred
Mission, and it dates from the beginning of the Noviciate
in 1893. Four years later the Society moved to Milden-
hall in Suffolk, and a few years later it established itself in
the House of the Sacred Mission, Kelham, Newark. In
1 90 1 the Society had 42 in its House, of whom 4 were
priests, 9 were lay-workers and 29 were students.*
As to the binding nature of the monastic bonds, Kelly
writes : "Membership was constituted by the Profession or
declaration of an Intention to serve for life. If any one
1 Kelly, An Idea in the Working (London, 1908), p. 15.
^ Ibid., p. 17.
^ Ibid., p. 39. * Ibid., p. 50.
194
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
wished to withdraw, he could do so on a year's notice, but
unless such notice was given, the act was always assumed to
be final. We provided also a second grade, in which a man
might after ten years make a final promise to the Society." ^
Students at the Theological College, which the Society con-
ducts, are allowed to join the community; and clergy, med-
ical men, teachers or craftsmen are invited to test themselves
for the Vocation.^
This community seems to differ from the others so far
noted in that it does not put the cultivation of the dedicated
life as its object, but rather it makes this the "basis for
the effective operation of a system whose aim is to provide
the Church with an organized association of workers." ^
It does not confine itself to any special form of work. Its
first interest has been the training of men for religious work,
especially for ordination. It has worked the cost of such
training down to a very low figure ; * and when necessary
the Society provides for the candidates chosen, but such are
expected to repay the sum of £ioo within five years after
Ordination. It has men working abroad in South Africa,
in Central Africa, under the U. M. C. A., and elsewhere.
The Society also has charge of a large town parish in Eng-
land."^
A friend of monasteries attributes the following special
significance to this Society : "To the student of the Religious
Life, the Society of the Sacred Mission has this importance
— It puts the Religious Life in its proper place. It is not
for all, so not all of the members of the Corean Missionary
Brotherhood entered the Society; it is for some." *
^Ibid., p. 40.
2 Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916, p. 67.
3 Judd, in Pax, June, 1909, p. 330.
* Kelly, op. cit., p. 46.
5 Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916, p. 67.
8 Rogers in A Franciscan Revival, p. 41.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
SEC. VIII. SOCIETY OF THE DIVINE COMPASSION
As we have seen, the orders of the Benedictines, the Laz-
arists, the Vincentians have all been more or less reproduced
in the Anglican Church. And now finally it remains to
speak of a Society modeled after the Franciscans. "The
Society of the Divine Compassion seeks to revive the spirit
of St. Francis of Assisi by living a poor life, sharing the
privations and discomforts of ordinary poor people." ^ "It
is a Community of priests, deacons, and communicant lay-
men, banded together in a common life of Poverty, Chastity
and Obedience." ^
The Society may be traced to a Retreat at Oxford, con-
ducted by Father Waggett, S. S. J. E., at which time the
Rule was drawn up. At the end of the Retreat on Jan. 20,
1899, the first Novices, in the Chapel of the Pusey House,
bound themselves to the observance of the Rule and Vows
for one year.^ The name. Society of the Divine Compas-
sion, was chosen because it represents that aspect of Al-
mighty God which they wished specially to hold up as the
light of the world in all social distress." * Two priests and
one layman started community life at Meredith Street,
Plaistow, in 1894. Just five years after the Rule was
drawn up, Jan. 20, 1899, the first two members made their
Profession to Dr. Festing, the Bishop of St. Albans, at S.
Pancras Church. The Rule had already been approved by
Archbishop Benson, and now the Community itself received
the episcopal sanction. Bishop Festing "celebrated Euchar-
ist and blessed the habits, cords and crucifixes, which were
laid upon the Altar. He then received the vows of the
1 A Franciscan Revival, Preface, p. vii.
2 Ibid., p. I.
3 Ibid.
« Roberts, G. Baysfield, in Pax, June, 191 1, p. 303.
196 THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
kneeling Novices, delivered to each one his habit, and gave
him the name by which he was to be known in the Com-
munity." ^ The Bishop ordained one brother Deacon and
Priest, and "it is believed that this is the first instance, since
the Reformation, of the ordination of a Religious in his
habit by an English Bishop." ^ Bishop Festing became the
official Visitor.
In 1905 the Society acquired a house at Stanford-le-Hope
in Essex. Here in the quiet of the country and apart from
all external work, the Noviciate is passed and the reality of
the Vocation is tested.^ At Plaistow, where the active work
is carried on, the Society is responsible for the mission dis-
trict around St. Philip's Church. In 191 1 the community
had so grown that it rented three houses in the parish. One
of the distinctive features of the Society is its artisan work.
"The life of the S. D. C. is a humble effort to imitate the
Incarnate life of our Divine Lord. It has its parish work,
where it lives a neighborly life, going out to the more active
work of the ministry in preaching and missions ; its work-
shops among the people, where it repairs clocks and watches,
works its printing presses, decorates churches ; and its mem-
bers may belong to the same trade societies as the artisans
among whom they live." * In 1901-2 a smallpox epidemic
broke out in London, and the priests of the S. D. C. minis-
tered to the patients at the Isolation Hospital at Dagenham
in Essex. The burial of the dead is another kind of work
sometimes performed by the Brothers. They also conduct
lectures and debates in workingmen's clubs. In short they
share the life of the poorest industrial classes. "Laymen
1 A Franciscan Revival, p. I.
2 Roberts, in Pax, June, 1911, p, 303. It has been seen that Bishop
Grafton of Fond-du-Lac ordained Dom Aelred, O. S. B., while the lat-
ter was on a visit to America, vide supra, p.
^ Ibid., p. 303; cf. A Franciscan Revival, p. 29.
*A Franciscan Revival, p. 3.
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
197
who have taken Vows can and do carry on the various trades
in which they were previously engaged ; and in the Whitwell
Press (under their direction) a friar may be seen in his
habit, working at an electric printing press. If, however,
the Society had to choose, it is the poor and suf¥ering whose
appeal it would most gladly answer." ^ One unique form
of their work is the production of the "Bethlehem Tab-
leaux," which have proved very popular. And yet in spite
of its emphasis on this active and varied social work, the
Society holds that "the work is rather for the life than the
life for the work." ^ "The life must be the attraction, and
not the work." ^
Another feature of the life which is different from the
other Orders in the English Church is that there is no dis-
tinction between "lay" and "choir" members. In fact, there
is nothing to prevent a layman's becoming the Superior.*
"The primary idea of the Society of the Divine Compas-
sion is that of a family of men, laymen as well as priests,
separated from the world and consecrated to God in Holy
Religion. There are no differences in dress or privileges.
The Religious Vocation is no less the governing principle
than the foundation upon which the Community is based.
Put neither by its Rule nor by its spirit is it severed from
all connection with the outside world. On the contrary, a
great desire to share and sanctify the experiences of the
poor, to hallow commercial life, and to recognize the dig-
nity of labor, were ruling impulses in the genesis of the
Society." ^
> Roberts, in Pax, June, 191 1, p. 306.
2 Ibid., p. 306.
'■^ A Franciscan Revival, p. 11.
* Ibid., p. 3-
= Roberts, in Pax, June, 191 1, p. 302.
CONCLUSION
The rise of the Brotherhoods and of a few representative
Sisterhoods has been sketched. The mention of Pusey, Sel-
lon, Neale, Ignatius, and others recalls the great opposition
which the early Orders encountered. No such martyrdom,
however, hallows the names of the recent monastic leaders.
The purely contemplative life has not yet apparently won
many supporters, but the revival of the "active" and the
"mixed" types of Community life has long since passed
through the period of bitter pamphleteering and violent abuse.
Two issues have been prominent in the discussions of the
communities since their revival. The first was the question
of vows. Almost every prelate of England during the last
fifty years has been forced to express himself as to his view
of vows, their legality and advisability. Those expressions
are interesting but not really important, for each Order has
found a way of maintaining its principles in regard to vows,
irrespective of episcopal authority. In some cases, the vows
are solemn ; in some they are simple ; while in others, no ex-
plicit vow is taken and only an "intention" is expressed. But
in all cases, the professing candidate at least feels that it is
a service for life. The position in regard to vows has been
shown in each order sketched above, and nothing further
needs to be said on this more or less intangible subject.
The other question of importance has been the relation of
these monastic orders to the Church and the episcopacy.
This subject was discussed at considerable length in the Can-
terbury Convocation of 1862,* and the bishops commended
the Sisterhoods to the prayers of the Church. In July, 1875,
a committee of the Lower House of Canterbury Convocation
1 CTironicle of Convocation, 1861-3.
198
COMMUNITIES OF MEN
199
was appointed to consider the rise and progress of Sister-
hoods and Brotherhoods. The report, which was presented in
May, 1878, called forth strong resolutions expressing thank-
fulness for their work and approval of the episcopal recogni-
tion accorded to them. The wide sympathy for this revival
was shown again in the same Convocation of 1889.*
In this treatment of monasticism we have sought to pull
a long, and at times a fragile, thread of interest. In the
seventeenth century it was strong enough to hold a number of
antiquaries and church leaders ; in the eighteenth it was weak-
ened almost to the point of breaking, until the new fibre was
woven in by the French refugee clergy; but from that day
on the strand of interest grew stronger until now it binds
together in the conventual life more than thirty communities
of men and women, with numerous branch Houses through-
out England and the British Empire.
^ Ollard in Dictionary of English Church History, p. 503.
APPENDIX I
Act of 1554. 1 & 2 Phil. & Mary, c. 8
"An Acte repealing all Statutes, Arcticles and Provisions
made against the See Apostolick of Rome since the XXth
yere of King Henry theight, and also from, thestablishment of
all Spyrytuall and Ecclesiasticall Possessions and Heredita-
ments Conveyed to the Layetye.
Sec. IX.
"And Finallie where certaine Actes and Statutes have bene
made in the time of the late Scisme, concerning the Landes
and Hereditamentes of Archbishoprikes and Bishoprikes, the
suppression and dissolucion of Monasteries, Abbeis Priories
Chantres Colledges and all other the Gooddes and Cattalles of
Religious Houses. Since the whyche tyme the Right and
Dominion of certaine Landes and Hereditaments gooddes and
cattelles belonging to the same be dispersed abroade, and
come to thandes and possession of dyvers and sundrye per-
sons, who by gyfte, purchase exchange and other means ac-
cording to thorder of the Lawes and Statutes of this Realme
for the tyme being, have the same: For thavoiding of all
Scruples that might growe by any thoccasion aforesaid, or
by any other means whatsoever. It male please your Majesties
to be Intercessours and Mediatours to the said most Revernd
Father Cardinall Poole. That all such Causes and Quarrelles
as by pretence of the said Scisme by the Popes Holynes or
See Apostolike or by ani other Jurisdiction Ecclesiasticall,
maie be utterly removed and taken away: so as all persons
having sufficient conveiance of the said Landes and Heredita-
ments goods and cattelles as is aforesaid by the Common
Lawes Actes or Statutes of this Realme, may without Scruple
200
APPENDIX I
201
of Conscience enjoy them, without Impeachment or Treble
by pretence of any Generall Counsell Canons or Ecclesiasticall
Lawes, and clere from all dangers of the censures of the
Churches." Statutes of the Realm, IV, par. 1, p. 245.
APPENDIX II
A Sermon Preached by the Rev. George Henry Glasse,
Rector of Hanwell, June 16, 1793.
"Of the second description of these wretched exiles, the
Monastic clergy, we must speak with more than common
delicacy in a country where their order has long since been
discontinued, the evil resulting from its establishment having
been found to be preponderate over the good. Yet to con-
demn these unfortunate men to indiscriminate censure, be-
cause they were once the inhabitants of a convent, would be
unjust — to refuse them relief when the iron band of oppres-
sion is crushing them to pieces, would be inhuman. Among
them were many whose exemplary virtues gave a lustre to
the contemplative life they had embraced — many who were
not a set of drones revelling in idle luxury, on the fruit of
others labour. There were among them persons, the younger
sons of noble families, whom the unfeeling partiality of par-
ents had compelled to withdraw from the world, that they
might aggrandise a first-bom son with their inheritance.
There were others whose zeal, however misguided, claim our
reverence — who embraced the profession from motives merely
conscientious — devoting themselves to the service of God by
a Hfe of austerity, abstinence, and severe mortification. There
were yet others, who having once mixed with the world, and
having shared its sins, and drunk deep of its sorrows found
relief in bringing the oblation of their hearts to the altar of
divine mercy. Among them were persons, who, dedicating
themselves to honourable study, advanced the best interests
of learning — who engaged in no political disputes, — no fac-
tious struggles for power — who never left the quiet retire-
ment of their cell, but to relieve the poor, to bring medicine
202
APPENDIX II
203
to the sick, or to set before the dying the bright prospect of
immortahty. If there were corruption in their institution,
those corruptions should have been done away. If there were
radical evils, which no half -measures could remove, the order
should gradually, and by gentle means, have been abolished.
But that a set of men, accused of no public crime, holding
no principle dangerous to the state, unfitted, by their educa-
tion, for any employment by which they might procure their
daily bread — that persons of this description should all at once
be driven from their peaceful retreats, as lambs into the midst
of wolves — that they should be reduced to the horrible neces-
sity of quitting their country, their profession, and the exer-
cise of their religion, to fly into a land they knew not — or if
they remained, that they should be compelled to renounce their
king and God, or present their bosoms to the dagger of as-
sassination ; this is cruelty so refined, injustice so complicated,
tyranny so execrable that it is impossible to find language
in which to proclaim our pity for the oppressed — our abhor-
rence and detestation of their oppressors!" Gentleman's
Magazine, LXXIII, 731 (August, 1793).
APPENDIX III
The Quotations at the Beginning of a Paper Entitled
"Revival of Monastic and Conventual Institutions
ON A Plan Adapted to the Exigencies of the
Reformed Catholic Church in England"
" 'Quid aliud fuere Monasteria quam officinae virtutum ;
jejunii patientiae laborum.' (D. Ambros, lib. x. Ep. F2.)
" 'A Monastery is a school of Christian penitence. It is
a little community having its own offices, in which each has
his own post marked out, and in which all are engaged in
labors of love ; whilst, from its silence and peace, the soul,
has leisure for contemplation.' (Brit. Critic LX. Art. 'Port
Royal.')
" 'To speak seriously and without passion what can the ill
be — to have places set apart whither men either by nature,
turn or otherwise unfit for the world, may retire themselves
in religious company, may think on Heaven and good learn-
ing?' ( Sir Roger Twysden, The Beginners of a Monastick
Life in Asia, Africa and Europe, 1698.)
" 'Something like monasteries for women would be a glori-
ous design, and may be set on foot to be the honor of a Queen
on the Throne.' (Bishop Burnet.)"
— Browne, Annals of the Tractarian Movement (Dublin, 1856), p.
93, et seq. This paper was taken from the Church Intelligencer and
widely circulated among the Oxford Party.
204
APPENDIX IV
Rules of the Society of the Holy Trinity, Devonport
In order to secure, as far as may be, that the Sisterhood
of Mercy in Devonport, recently estabHshed by the permission
of Almighty God, should, under His divine blessing, be con-
tinued upon the same principles on which it was begun, the
following Regulations, as to its funds and operations, have
been adopted, with the sanction of the Lord Bishop of Exeter.
I. A legal instrument has been prepared, by which cer-
tain of the Sisters have agreed to live together, (conforming
to certain regulations, sanctioned by the Bishop, for the bet-
ter conduct of the interior of the Institution) ; but with free
liberty to any Sister to withdraw if it shall so seem good to
her.
II. Any Sister so withdrawing, or in any way ceasing
to be a member of the Society, shall be entitled to her own
personal property ; but neither she nor her heirs shall be en-
titled to any share of the common property of the Society.
III. The Sisterhood shall belong to the Church of Eng-
land; and if any Sister should unhappily cease to be a mem-
ber of the Church of England, she shall, ipso facto, cease to
be a member of the Society.
IV. The object of the Sisterhood shall be the education of
the female children of Sailors and Soldiers, who shall have
lost either parent ; the visiting the sick and needy ; super-
intendance of schools, infant or adult, industrial or educa-
tional; oral instruction of adults in smaller classes; the visit-
ing of female emigrants on board vessels sailing from or touch-
ing at the port of Plymouth ; and any other purpose of love
(such as the care of hospitals or infirmaries, the temporary
205
2o6
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
shelter and training of distressed women of good character)
which God, in His Good Providence, shall open to them.
V. The Bishop of Exeter, for the time being, shall be ex
officio Visitor of the Sisterhood; and all the internal regula-
tions of the Sisterhood shall be open to him.
VI. The Sisters, in visiting the poor and sick, shall be
under the direction of the Clergy in whose districts they visit.
VII. The schools formed by the Sisters shall be open at
all times, for the inspection and religious instruction of the
parochial clergy of the district, and to the Diocesan inspector
of the schools appointed or approved by the Bishop.
VIII. Any property given to the Sisterhood, either by the
Sisters themselves, or by donations for permanent purposes,
or by bequests, shall be vested in the Sisterhood; but the
accounts shall be at all times open to a person appointed by
the Bishop to inspect them.
IX. Any one who shall hereafter be admitted to join the
Sisterhood, shall have the concurrence of two-thirds of the
Sisters above the age of 25, with the sanction of the Bishop.
X. Should it hereafter unhappily ever become necessary
(which God avert) to remove any Sister, it shall be requisite
that such removal should be deemed necessary by at least two-
thirds of the Sisters above the age of 30, and be confirmed
by the Bishop.
Bequests may be made to the Sisterhood under the title of
Church of England Sisterhood of Mercy in Devonport.
The Sisters of Mercy at Devonport. Report of An Inquiry Held by
the Lord Bishop of Exeter. With an Appendix, Ed. by Richard C.
Rogers (Devonport, 1849). Appendix, pp. 12-13.
APPENDIX V
Chronological List of Conventual Communities in the
Church of England
1847 Community of St. Thomas the Martyr. Oxford.
1848 Society of the Holy Trinity. Devonport.
1849 Sisterhood of St. John the Baptist. Clewer.
1849 Sisterhood of St. Mary. Wantage.
1851 Sisterhood of All Saints. Colney Chapel, St. Albans.
1852 Society of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.
1854 Sisterhood of St. Margaret. East Grinstead.
1855 Community of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Queen
Square, Brighton.
1855 Sisterhood of All Hallows. Ditchingham, Norfolk.
1858 Sisterhood of St. Peter. Horbury.
1858 Community of the Holy Road. North Ormesby,
Middlesbrough.
1861 Community of St. Peter. Mortimer Rd., Kilburn.
1865 Society of St. John the Evangelist. Cowley St. John,
Oxford.
1865 Community of the Mission Sisters of the Holy Name
of Jesus. Malvern Link.
1866 Sisters of Bethany. Lloyd Square, Pentonville, W. C.
1867. Sisters of Charity. Knowle, Bristol.
1869 Community of Reparation. Green St., Southwark.
1870 Sisters of the Church. Randolph Gardens, Kilburn,
N. W.
1879 St. Katherine's Sisterhood. Normand House, Fulham,
S. W.
1879 Community of St. Lawrence. Belper.
1883 Community of the Epiphany. Truro.
207
208
THE REVIVAL OF CONVENTUAL LIFE
1891 Society of the Sacred Mission. Kelham, Newark-on-
Trent.
1892 Community of the Resurrection. Mirfield.
1894 Sisterhood of the Ascension. 21 Seymour St., Port-
man Sq. W.
1894 Society of the Incarnation. Saltley, Birmingham.
1895 Community of St. Michael and All Angels. Hammer-
smith.
1896 Community of the Holy Family. Holmhurst, Baldslow,
St. Leonards-on-Sea.
1897 Congregation of the Servants of Christ. Pleshey,
Chelmsford.
1899 Society of the Divine Compassion. Stanford le Hope,
Essex.
Other existing communities whose dates of origin are
not known to the writer are :
Nursing Sisters of St. John the Divine. 21 Drayton
Gardens, South Kensington.
Sisters of Our Lady of Nazareth. Dover.
Sisters of the Holy Cross. Hayward's Heath.
— Gilg, "Die Renaissance des Klosterwesens in der anglikanis-
chen Kirche." im Internationale Kirchliche Zeitschrift. 3
Jahrgang, 1913, pp. 371-2.
Cf. Official Year Book of the Church of England, 1916.
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VITA
Ralph Washington Sockman was born October i, 1889,
in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. After graduating from the Fred-
ericktown (Ohio) High School in 1906, he taught one year
in the public schools of Knox County, Ohio. He entered
Ohio Wesleyan University in 1907, receiving the degree
of B.A. in 191 1. From 191 1 to 1913 he v^'as secretary
of the Intercollegiate Y. M. C. A. in New York City and
also a student in the School of Political Science at Colum-
bia University, in which department he received the Master
of Arts degree in 1913. He graduated from Union Theo-
logical Seminary, New York, N. Y., in 1916 after com-
pleting three years of study, during which he was a can-
didate for the doctorate of philosophy at Columbia Uni-
versity. In February, 191 7, he was called to the pastorate
of the Madison Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, New
York City, which position he now holds.
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